Mimesis

Mimesis Dec 2021

‘Mimesis’ refers to anthropocentrism as a cultural assumption about the superiority of humans in the natural world. The belief that human beings are the most significant entities in the world and that all other beings hold value only in their ability to serve humans Our relationship to our ecosystem is an exploitive, economic one and is responsible for our current environmental crisis.

Embedded in the ancient crafting of textiles are answers about how to  prepare for adaption and survival by engaging in essential skills such as making twine sourced from readily available plant materials. 

The cabbage tree grows profusely in urban settings across NZ. Traditionally Maori have been string/rope-making and weaving with tī kōuka ( cabbage tree) for hundreds of years. The natural plant material is an excellent carrier for the perfume which is the central part of the work. 

I gathered fallen leaves from a cabbage tree (tī kōuka) growing in my  back yard, hand-twisted them into thin twine which I knitted into a numerous g-strings/thongs held together with thorns. 

I view the g-string/thong garment as analogous to product design focused on profit. One of the methods used in the era of neoliberalism to increase profits is to eliminate unnecessary product features to reduce costs.

When I twisted each thong and it bent into the shape of an animal face. I wanted the pervasive odour of an animal trophy. so I made a perfume with material labelled as Kasturi deer musk purported to be the real thing. Its authenticity is questionable because it wasn’t too expensive and it smells like my grandmother’s toilet freshener. Kasturi deer are critically endangered due to rampant and uncontrolled poaching.

The fragrant mixture is applied to the twisted and pinned g-string/thongs. The animal, reedy, undergrowth odour is perceivable from 3 metres, and lasts for 6 months.