Elena Manferdini
Last sunday my friend Sean Donahue. invited me to join a talk by Elena Manferdini. The first time I came across Elena’s work was at the California Design Biennial last year, I did not know her work but when I saw it I thought – wow this makes me feel different. I was reminded of living surfaces, skin. I was surprised. The more I saw the pieces at the biennial the more I thought about protection, movement and desire. Her work presents a paradox of structure and freedom, a perfect tension between the two. She talked about the relationship between our body and clothing, our body and physical spaces, and scale. Elena’s talk reminded me of the recent MOCA exhibit Skin+Bones that explored the parallells between fashion and architecture in profound ways. From identity through geometry to pleating.
I’ve always been interested in the space between the human body and clothing. That intimate space between ourselves and the second protection layer. The permanent changes that occur right there, the various ways in which we address those changes. Temperature, pressure, breathability. How can clothing enhance these experiences when they are not in balance? At some point during my MFA thesis work I looked at wearable technology from analog to digital enhanced solutions that explore answers to address changes in this space. On sunday I was reminded of how much that space fascinates me.
I have to say that I have not been inspired in such a long time, the reason Elena’s work inspires me so much is because of the way she approaches her practice. Not only as a designer, but also as a teacher. With the talent and ability to move from 2D to 3D, with a clear understanding and experimentation of physical environments and their relationship to the human body; and finally with the grace to move successfully across media types.
The photo above by Elena Manferdini.
May 25th, 2007