CULTURE CLASH , WS 20/21
SCENARIO
In the year 2220, the earth has become extremely warm due to climate change. In many southern regions such as Africa, South America and parts of Asia, life has become unbearable. Natural disasters, parched soil, famine ... a bearable future is hardly imaginable anymore. But not everyone is affected. 50 years earlier, there was a wave of migration to Siberia. Only a few could afford it. Now it was not the poor of the world, but the rich who flocked to the north in order to build a new sealed-off affluent society in this climatically pleasant region.
In this one, people from the most diverse backgrounds come together. As elites, they have lost their original geographic roots, but not their cultural traditions. They consciously maintain them and at the same time put them into dialogue with the other members of the new society. There are both phenomena in which traditions blend and those in which they remain approximately pure. A common understanding of an expanded cultural identity emerges, in which what is unique in each case is preserved but can also enter into exchange with the other.
However, this openness does not last long, and a social regression sets in. Noble houses are formed, new elites that increasingly determine the rules of public life. They not only take over the levers of power, but also set themselves apart from the 'people' externally, as in a feudal society of estates.
One of their privileges is to wear and display their traditional patterns in public in order to demonstrate their social rank to demonstrate their social rank. Those who do not belong to the nobility, on the other hand, must be content with plain-colored garments, even though the need for traditional and hybrid patterns is very widespread.
CONCEPT
In such a situation of cultural oppression, subversive counter-strategies almost inevitably develop. How can control be subverted and creative use of patterns continue to be practiced? How do the non-privileged find ways to express their own traditions and emotions?
Here, a simple trick comes into play that used to be practiced only as an expression of personal exaltation: the clothes are turned inside out, the patterns disappear on the inside and remain
invisible from the outside. In private, it can then be turned inside out and revealed to others; the unity of solid colors is transformed once again into a diversity of patterns and becomes an expression of personal identities.
The hidden wearing, in public, of the patterns associated with traditions and emotions, gives people a sense of security.
Through the shared knowledge, a 'secret society' is created. Strengthened by this, the 'people' move more confidently in public space. At this point, one could draw a comparison to a talisman. Hidden, close to the skin, one always feels the presence of the patterns, embroideries and threads. Created is a secure and at the same time sublime feeling.
The source of inspiration for the patterns are both past and present.
Due to different cultural influences, garments are created which use different styles, patterns, shapes, colors and techniques. The patterns and embroideries are combined and hidden in a playful way.