Moving on from my initial experimentation I have decided to create a magazine (either digital or print) which will be promoted and then distributed as an edition via my Instagram art account. To achieve this I need to compile content for the magazine, researching key topics I've recognised during the initial project stages. I also need to begin considering format and composition by researching similar published pieces which inspire me.
Publishing
The purpose of this research is to explore ways of printing and publishing a series of work, with consideration to the importance of design decisions when using text.
Fashion Revolution
This is a digital magazine which discusses the key issues with the contemporary fashion industry. The magazine campaigns for movements such as #WhoMadeMyClothes, working with artists and activists to change the issues within the fashion industry. Check out more of what they do at fashionrevolution.org and their digital magazines via Issuu.
Visual Analysis:
This piece combines a number of different styles really well, such as photography, drawn illustration and articles. It works well as a published print because of this. In terms of my own work, I feel making something similar in future projects, it could be useful to work as a group/collective, that way there would be a number of contrasting styles, which would give the outcome a more tabloid feel.
The actual format of the print is interesting, its free and fully accessible online. I think this is a useful way of sharing information like this as it makes it accessible to everyone. When creating the final design there is clear correlation between the concept and the context of the outcome. In terms of my own distribution I will need to consider similarly linking the outcome media with my concept. For example, if I am to charge and profit from the distribution of my outcome, I am then becoming the consumerist systems that I am criticising.
Sustainable Graphic Design
This project by Ryan Kavanagh via behance explores the future of sustainable design. I'm particularly interested in how this series publishes text in a creative format which adds a layer of meaning. When considering including text in my work, I may wish to explore how I can creatively design this.
Visual Analysis:
This series uses considered media decisions based on its content, which makes the text more interesting. Considering how I represent text in my magazine is important because I still would like heavier text pieces to have some visual communication. Thinking about the importance of background when presenting text makes it more visually appealing to an audience, and creates another layer of meaning in terms of the concept.
Amir Noor
Similar to Kavanagh, Noor uses unconventional materials to display text to give his works a deeper meaning, a good example of how greatly the materials we choose will influence the overall concept of the works. Check out more of Noor's work via amizle.wordpress.com
Visual Analysis:
Similar to some of the pop-artists I explored as part of an investigation into anti-consumerist art, Noor manipulated found imagery/materials when creating his works. This adds another layer of meaning through simple design choices. When relating to my own work representing text on objects that hold visual connotations to the topic can both make text more visually interesting and create a layer of meaning.
Plastic Waste
During the initial project stages I found a lot of inspiration when looking at the issue of plastic production and waste. The purpose of this research is to collect concise and factual information in order to produce and informed article on plastic waste.
According to the Westminster Gov Plastic guide:
In the UK 5 million tonnes of plastic is consumed each year.
Only a quarter of this is recycled.
Plastic can take over 400 years to biodegrade.
Each year approximately 8 million tonnes of plastic ends up in our oceans, but what problems does this cause?
This video by BBC Earth discusses some of the environmental impacts of plastic ending up in our oceans, and scientist's predictions for the future of ocean life. It's thought that plastic ends up in our oceans from waste being dumped by rivers and on coastlines, making it's way through channels into the greater ocean.
Visual Imagery
Most of the plastic in our oceans ends up in ocean 'garbage patches', the largest being the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. All together it's estimated that these patches are home to around 200 million tonnes of floating waste! This isn't only visually unappealing, but is greatly impacting the vast ecosystem the ocean is home to...
Here's some more resources about the extent of plastic waste from NatGeo:
Animals Eat Plastic Because it Smells like Food; This article discusses how over 200 different animal species are thought to be digesting plastic, including, whales, turtles and especially sea birds.
Microplastics are working their way through the ecosystem, and into our food; This articles discusses the implications of plastic being consumed along the foodchain and ending up in our food. Microplastics are so small it's thought the ocean has become a 'soup' of plastic.
Plastic is being found at the deepest levels of the ocean; This article highlights the extent of our plastic problem, when a diver found a plastic carrier bag at 35,000+ feet deep floor of the Mariana Trench.
"THE NUMBERS ARE staggering: There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic debris in the ocean. Of that mass, 269,000 tons float on the surface, while some four billion plastic microfibers per square kilometre litter the deep sea." - National Geographic
There are thousands of scientists across the globe working on solving the plastic crisis, but the change has to come from every industry and can't be reliant on only us as the consumer.
Questions to ask within my work:
What can we all do to reduce our plastic waste?
Do we as consumers have any actual power in reducing our plastic waste?
How can we spark actual effective change within our generation in terms of plastic waste?
The Fashion Industry
The fashion industry is thought by the UN to be the second most polluting industry in the world, behind the meat and dairy industry. The environmental impacts of the industry span from the harmful production of fabric, to the enormous amount of clothing we throw away.
This video highlights some of the key issues with the fashion industry:
Cotton production depletes water sources and pollutes surrounding areas with harmful pesticides and chemicals.
The majority of microplastics found in our oceans are plastic fibres from synthetic clothes - such as nylon and acrylic - which make their way into the ocean through domestic washing. These plastics end up in fishes stomachs...
This video looks at the key statistics of the fashion industry's environmental impacts:
The fashion industry uses 31 Billion litres of oil and 79 billion litres of water a year.
Fashion production causes 20% of all fresh water pollution.
In 2017 the UK threw away £12.5 billion of clothing, contributing 300,000 tonnes of textiles to landfill.
In my initial research I talked about fast fashion, but it's thought the issue lies across all sectors of the fashion industry.
The fashion industry also sparks a range of humanitarian issues:
1. Child Labour
According to Unicef around 170 million children around the world are involved in child labour - "work for which the child is either too young – work done below the required minimum age – or work which, because of its detrimental nature or conditions, is altogether considered unacceptable for children and is prohibited”. - many of these children work for textiles and garment industries to feed the Western demand for fast fashion. Companies opt to use child labour in developing countries as it allows them to keep production costs as low as possible.
Child labour is a particular issue for fashion because much of the supply chain requires low-skilled labour and some tasks are even better suited to children than adults. In cotton picking, employers prefer to hire children for their small fingers, which do not damage the crop. - Sofie Ovaa, StopChildLabor
It's common for major companies to not even know that they are operating with child labour, due to large and complex manufacture chains. The problem contributes to the cycle of poverty, as parents in low income countries with poor education, need their children to work low paid jobs to survive, their children then miss out on education and the cycle continues.
2. Low Wages and Poor Conditions
With the rise of fast fashion the system of the fashion industry has completely changed. Consumers want new clothes constantly, quickly and cheaply. Big brands are cashing in on this culture, cutting corners to provide to new consumer needs.
Companies use 'sweatshops' in countries where workers rights laws are not regulated, this allows them to cut production costs as workers are often being paid very low wages, working long hours and in unsafe working conditions.
Charities such as Oxfam fight to end the use of unsafe sweatshops, which you can read more about here.
One of the biggest culprits relying on unsafe work conditions are fashion brand H&M, who in 2015 were under fire for failing to provide fire exits in their factories in Bangladesh.
Read more about how we can change our fashion industry here.
Applying this to my work:
Combining images of fashion e.g. advertisement, runways, with images of waste and pollution. Use techniques researched in anti-consumerist art of manipulating imagery of fashion to represent the darker aspects of the industry. i.e. replacing the texture of a dress with oil.
Consider the intention of my piece, can't just spout the issues without offering pro-active information to change. Use research into reducing impacts of fashion consumption to create informative pieces such as above.