Portfolio by Kanyinsola Onalaja

Kanyinsola Onalaja PORTFOLIO

Kanyinsola Onalaja CONTACT DETAILS Tel: 07908820844 Email: konalaja@aol.com Website: www.konalaja.com

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CONTENTS

Defragmented Imperfection ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Introduction ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Mood board •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Research and Development •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Concept ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Sketchbook Development ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Collection Overview ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Collection Development •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

11 12 13 14 18 43 44 46

Battle of The Senses •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Mood board ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Introduction ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Concept ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Sketchbook Development ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Collection Development •••••••••••••••••••••••••••

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Child’s Play ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Introduction ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Mood board ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Sketchbook Development ••••••••••••••••••••••••••• Collection Overview •••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••

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Milliadro Dynasty Collection

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DEFRAGMENTED IMPERFECTION

INTRODUCTION

I started developing my work by exploring the influence of past idea and craft designs on more recent contemporary ones; as well as digital aesthetics. Initially, I investigated hand-crafted designs with its occasional original flaws and seemingly perfect digital images; in particularly computer glitches. After reviewing my work, I was not too happy as many of my ideas were fragmented and unrelated in many aspects. Nevertheless, I took advantage of this situation and embarked on discovering how I could reorganize and reconcile all the different aspects. My interest in digital image and computers increased and I discovered the process known as ‘defragmentation’. The process of defragmenting a computer inspires my design concept. With regular use, a computer’s hard drive becomes fragmented. Consequently, whole computer files are divided up; and the incomplete parts are stored in numerous places on the hard drive. This process is known as fragmentation; as a result, the system is disorganized and processing problems occur. Defragmentation is the procedure used to resolve fragmentation issues. The former entails gathering all the fragmented or incomplete files and restoring them into wholes. Accordingly, this improves the computer’s efficiency and overall performance. In light of the preceding explanation, I realised that my initial research into hand crafted designs and digital aesthetics have many similarities. Hand crafted designs are often not perfect. Likewise, digital aesthetics is developed through the means of digital technology (such as a computer). The latter can become fragmented; hence it is no longer perfect. Subsequently, my concept evolved into ‘Defragmented Imperfection’; looking at different fragments (fabrics, colour, texture, shape, manipulations)/pieces; reorganizing and reconstructing in order to create a collection based on an absolutely complete design concept. Interestingly, my BEGINNING became my END. I looked closely at many digital images and investigated how I could represent this in my designed. I focused on some pixel (tiny single piece of a digital image or picture) based images; which is usually a coloured dot. This dot is made up of a blend of other colours. After much deliberation and many fabric manipulations later, I chose to include knitted garments in my collection. Different (coloured, textured and weight) pieces of yarn were woven together to create a many pieces of fabric, which was then put together to make a whole garment. In order to include some aspect of hand crafting (apart from the sewing); as well as achieve that pixelated look I decided to incorporate pleating. First cutting the different pieces of cloth into parts, then pleating the cloth parts, and finally sewing the various parts together made the pleated garments in my collection. Although pixel images and shapes are often seen as having limitations; especially when the size is enlarged or drawn out. However, it is this quality that inspired me to explore and incorporate pleats into my designs. Just like pixel based images or shapes, pleats when enlarged or stretched lose their sharpness; and becomes softer. Fragmentation it seems is a process that is inevitable in computers and the advocated solution is defragmentation. Similarly, I see myself as a mere fragment in the bigger world of design, so many different aspects.

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Humanising digital Virtual Reality The relationship between man and machine. Showing an appreciation for raw beauty and exploring the imperfection within perfection. Adding a human touch to a mechanised industry. Looking at technology as a means to connect. Human qualities are transferred to a digital space using data as the basis of design.

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Revised concept: “DIGITAL IMPERFECTION” Exploring a digital aesthetic,using past ideas and crafts to influence the contemporary. Concept develops the idea of the restoration of the human touch by showing some human impaction in a digital sense with glitches and other dynamics celebrating the digital imperfections.

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SKETCHBOOK DEVELOPMENT

Glitch tactics explored and msnipulated through handwoven traditional Nigerian fabric Aso-oke

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Exploring the idea of breaking lines and layering of graphics to create a digital end space with fragmentation.

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Digital splurge of spikes and lines representing Glitches in a linear way.

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Pages in sketchbook, developing the idea of fragments and pixels reinterpreted into physical pleats and three dimensional shapes.

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FABRICS

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COLLECTION DEVELOPMENT

COLLECTION OVERVIEW

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Developed knit inspired by imperfect errors and computer failings. It has been achieved through a double bed jacquard knit. Textures and yarns have been built up to create the final pattern. KANYINSOLA ONALAJA. PORTFOLIO 2014. DEFRAGMENTED IMPERFECTION 43

Garment development, Pineapple pleating made up of tiny prisms. Prior to that, Fabric has been knitted and after pleated draped on stand. 45

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Knitting technique of building layers of loose yarns and threads to create a laddering effect. This is a representation of the breakdown of the digital. Fragmentation here is represented in the aspect of blocks being matched up with the loose ladders to create a contrast.

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BATTLE OF THE SENSES

MOODBOARD

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INTRODUCTION SIGHT HEAR TASTE TOUCH SMELL Our knowledge of the outside world depends on our modes of perception. ILLUSIONS. What we see is often not what it is or is there. Our senses (Sight, Smell, Taste, Touch and Hear are in constant battle and occasionally in unison with the other to try to differientatie and work through our everyday. It forms a sort of network. With that, the images and objects depicted will work as a network and catalyst. The person wearing or viewing the garment must experience a sort of battle. SIGHT When digesting an image, the subjects are often filled with prisms that inverts images. It has been proven that components of an object can distort the perception of the complete object. Our mind is the final orbiter of the truth. The human ear another aspect, percieves frequences of up to 16 cycles per second, this along with tatse, touch and smell adds to our visual illusion and perception. It is evident that in most situations, one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another. This collection reinterprets the idea of the way in which our mind develops, and uses our senses to help us adapt to situations. Prisms and lines and layering have been the main source of inspiration throughout the collection. Prints have been created to create a visual response to our intangible senses.