Fashionscape Design Creating New Situations for Wearing Clothes

Nishio Yoshinari

Fig. 1 Familial Uniform: Nishio Family 2006 / lambda print / h: 103 cm w: 145.6 cm × 2

For modern civil society, clothing gives its members a sense of security and confidence, and functions as a medium that facilitates communication. In order to be accepted as a legitimate member of society, it is necessary to learn cultural norms and expectations in relation to the body. In other words, both selfexpression and communication through clothings is practiced within the accepted norms of a given culture. Furthermore, in today’s contemporary globalised society, new clothing is manufactured and presented to us each season, inviting our participation in an unremitting act of consumption.

Considered in this way, while assuming the role of a form of communication, clothing might also be said to hinder certain other forms of communication that might otherwise have been possible. This, I consider to be the central concern that informs my practice as an artist. However, notwithstanding this realisation, I feel that clothing has more potential as a communication tool than any other medium, due to the fact that everyone is already a participant in, and practitioner of, clothing. In my practice, I have aimed to redeem the active engagement of people as clothing practitioners, and restore the latent communicative possibilities of clothing.

I refer to my art practice as “fashionscape design”, signifying the design of unexpected situations in which clothes are worn or utilised through art projects and workshops. My experiments, which take numerous forms, aim to diversify and broaden the ways in which people interact with clothing, including the action of acquiring, wearing, changing, washing, and disposing of garments.

My early work Familial Uniform (Fig. 1) focuses on the relationship between fashion and communication. For this work, I recreated family photographs that had been taken twenty years previously, using the same locations, people, and clothing − exactly as they all appear in the original images. What made this work possible were the close family ties that had endured through the years.

Fig. 2 Self Select #39 (Nairobi) 2009 inkjet print h: 103 cm w: 145.6 cm

I expanded my interest in the relationship between clothing and people in my next project, Self Select (Fig. 2). In this work, I attempted to exchange my clothes with those of strangers I encountered in various cities that I had travelled to. With little knowledge of the local languages, I had to communicate using simple, prepared sentences such as: “I'm poor at communicating in your language, but would you mind exchanging your clothes with mine so we can communicate more deeply?” Fortunately, some of the passers-by I met were happy to exchange their clothes with me, and furthermore, agreed to have their photographs taken as well. This is an ongoing life-long project that I am still pursuing today.

Overall (Figs. 3-4) and People’s House (Fig. 5) were both conceived through my research into clothing size. For these projects, I transformed clothing originally manufactured for a single person into huge garments that can accommodate a multitude of people. Both projects began with the collection of unwanted clothes in various sites that were then patched together with the help of local residents. Eventually the patchwork turned into a great canopy, and the exhibition site became a meeting place open to all. In both Overall and People’s House, the patchwork was then taken apart at the end of the installation, and once again made into clothes worn by individuals.

Similar to Overall and People’s House, Pubrobe (Fig. 6) is a project that involved the creation of a space with clothing, where visitors could share individual garments with others. This project was conceived and exhibited at the Aichi Triennale 2016, with the aim of highlighting certain aspects of social design. For this project, I asked locals to donate unwanted clothes in order to create a public wardrobe for all. Museum visitors could freely try on garments and borrow them in a similar fashion to borrowing a book from a library. The aim of the project was to offer a fresh lens on how clothing defines our identity. In this regard, Pubrobe bears a resemblance to Self Select introduced earlier. Sewing machines were also placed in the gallery for visitors who wished to adjust the sizes of clothing or make other alterations. Using garments as a medium, Pubrobe created unexpected situations that resulted in a unique space for communication.

Fig. 3 Overall: Steam Locomotive / 2010 / old clothes, stick h: 300 cm w: 250 cm d: 750 cm

Laundry of the Senses (Fig. 7) is a public art workshop that involves the action of washing and drying laundry, an activity that anyone can perform. The idea for this workshop developed out of a visit to Kenya, at which time I noticed how the action of washing clothes in public made the town seem more vibrant, while the laundry that hung outside added colour to the urban landscape. My intention in this workshop is not to deny the existence of automatised washing and drying, but to encourage people to wash laundry outdoors and stimulate their creative sensibilities. To aid this process, during the workshop the participants create “music” with the sounds made while handwashing their laundry, hang their washed clothes to dry in public spaces in town in the manner of multinational flags, take lunch as if celebrating hanami − a Japanese custom of enjoying seasonal flower-viewing with food and drink − while savoring the sight of their hung laundry, and finally, sketch the urban landscape that has been given new vibrancy. After their creativity has been inspired by these activities, the participants then change into their newly washed clothes on site, and return home.

This workshop is now held regularly at Iwaki City in Tohoku prefecture, an area struck by the disastrous tsunami on 11 March 2011. Due to the effects of

Fig. 4 Overall: Ueno Great Buddha / 2009 / old clothes, rope Photo by Masakazu Shibata

Fig. 5 People’s House: Clothes / 2010 old clothes

Fig. 6 Pubrobe / 2016 old clothes, hangers, pipe scaffolding, flameproof sheet, wire fence, tables, chairs, sewing machines Interactive installation Photo by Yoshihiro Kikuyama

Fig. 7 Laundry of the Senses 2017 workshop view

the devastating earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear plant incident, this area previously went through a period during which all laundry was hung indoors and children could not be seen playing in local parks. An activity such as this, in which an everyday task (in this case, washing clothes) is performed in public, may well be needed most in places that have experienced such events.

One might wonder why I insist on ways of communicating that might appear outmoded − gathering together to wash clothes, or borrowing garments as you would a library book − in an age when online communication through the Internet and mobile phones is so ubiquitous. This may perhaps be attributed to my genuine attraction to such activities from former times that I myself never experienced, but I also believe that by installing past lifestyles back into contemporary life, the meanings in people’s behaviour and the landscape itself can really be transformed. Such activities were presumably hard work in the past, and most people had no choice but to do them, but people today may perhaps find joy in these same activities. I believe this can be attributed to the excessive organisation and strain of contemporary life, which leads us to seek different ways of using time.

Today’s Internet society has achieved instantaneous and widespread communication. I, too, am an advocate of such advances, but at the same time I think that, as human beings, we also need slower and more intimate forms of communication. For example, in comparison to the long history of washing clothes by hand, the action of washing without physical contact with water has a very short history. In this sense, I think we always need to look back to the past, and to more natural means of behaviour and interaction.

(un)Uniform (Fig. 8) is a project that invited endusers into the design process of a personalised uniform, challenging the idea of conventional, homogenised styles. In Toride Art Project, an art festival held in Ibaraki prefecture, staff members have developed a kind of tradition where they each wear clothing items that match the theme colour selected for each respective year. Incorporating this tradition into my project, I asked staff members to bring personal items that corresponded to the colour of that particular year, after which we then recombined them to create unique forms.

I further developed these activities into a new method for creating clothes, devising new fashion brands with elderly women and with children respectively. While generally encouraged to stimulate creativity through play, children are typically not allowed by adults or society at large to fool around when it comes to clothing. It would be unthinkable, for instance, to allow children to cut up their own clothes with a pair of scissors (Fig. 9). In this sense, even children are already participants in the act of “fashion” and of wearing clothes.

I am currently interested in the idea of incorporating the concept of “fashionscape” into the making of clothing, such as in the collaborative production of clothing with children, elderly women, and others on the fringes of

Fig. 8 (un)Uniform: Toride Art Project 2006 Photo by Tsuyoshi Saito

the fashion industry, as well as in the production of clothing where unique forms of communication are reflected in the creative process itself (Fig. 10).

Fashion represents a medium that is the closest and most familiar to human beings.

The clothes that one already wears, the act of rethinking one’s clothing, and stopping to think about fashion itself, are all connected to the creative acts of making our everyday lives richer and more fulfilling. I do not think the rights and privileges associated with these acts should be monopolised by so-calleds fashion brands. The joy involved in the creative act is open to all people, and all “participants” (Fig. 11).

Nishio Yoshinari, Artist, Japan

Nishio Yoshinari lives and works in Nara. After obtaining a Ph. D. in Fine Arts from Tokyo University of the Arts in 2011, Nishio stayed in Nairobi, Kenya for two years as a grantee of the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs. He currently works as Associate Professor at Nara Prefectural University. His works have consistently referred to relationships between fashion and communication, as he has developed art projects with the cooperation of citizens and students around the world.

His group exhibitions include Socially Engaged Art (3331 Arts Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan, 2017), Aichi Triennale (Aichi, Japan, 2016), In Progress (Zendai Contemporary Art Space, Shanghai, China, 2015), Invisible Energy (ST PAUL St Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2015), You reach out – right now – for something: Questioning the Concept of Fashion (Contemporary Art Gallery, Art Tower Mito, Japan, 2014), Biennale Benin (Cotonou, Benin, 2012), Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial (Niigata, Japan, 2009) and Media City Seoul (Seoul Museum of Art, Korea, 2006). Fig. 9 Form on Words 2008 workshop view

"In my practice, I have aimed to redeem the active engagement of people as clothing practitioners, and restore the latent communicative possibilities of clothing."

Fig. 10 Form on Words 2008 workshop

Fig. 11 (un) Uniform: Arts Maebashi 2014 old clothes Photo by Yuasa Tohru

西尾美也

Fig. 1 Familial Uniform: Nishio Family（西美尾也的家庭） 2006 /光學打印 /一組兩幅，高：103厘米 寬：145.6厘米

服裝對現代社會成員而言，是一種安全感和自信心的來源，並成為促進人與人之間溝通的媒 介。學習社會對身體的規範和法則，是人們獲得社會認同的有效方式，換句話說，衣服在特 定文化規範的要求下，成為人們自我表達和溝通的準則。在當今全球化的背景之下，新衣服 按照季度推出，刺激人們不斷消費。

由於每個人都穿衣，服裝在作為交流工具這件事上，顯然比其他媒介具有更大的潛力。然而， 服裝既是公認的一種溝通方式，是否亦阻礙了其他可能的溝通方式，這是我作為藝術家所思 考的核心問題。

在藝術實踐中，我試圖恢復人們成為活躍的穿衣者，重塑衣服在溝通方面潛在的可能性。我 嘗試通過不同的藝術項目、工作坊，來設計穿戴或使用衣物的非常規方法，以多種形式拓寬 人們與衣物的互動方式，這其中包括購買、穿著、更換、洗滌和丟棄等行為，我總稱其為「時 尚設計」。

我的早期作品《Familial Uniform》，就是對時尚和交流關係的探討，我以相同的人物、地 點與服裝，再現一張二十年前的家庭合影，家庭成員之間的親密關係，是促成這件作品的基 礎（Fig. 1）。

在另一個項目《Self Select》中，我嘗試與旅途 上不同城市的人交換衣服，延續了對人與衣物關 係的探討。由於語言的限制，我只能很簡單的表 達「我不太熟悉你的語言，但我想更了解你，你 願意和我交換衣服嗎？」幸運的是，有些人願意 這樣做，並同意我用相機記錄，這是一個我將持 續下去的終生計劃（Figs. 2-3）。

《Overall》（Fig. 4）、《People’s House》 （Fig. 5）的構思，源自我對衣物尺寸的研究， 將原來的單人衣服改裝成可容納多人的衣物。通 過在不同地方收集人們棄置的衣服，我在當地居 民的協助下，將所有布料縫製成一張巨幕，私人 衣物由此轉化成可供集會的公共空間。這兩個拼 布項目結束時，布料被拆開回收，重新變作屬於 個人的衣服。 與以上兩個項目相似，《Pubrobe》邀請參與 者建立共享私人衣物的空間，這個項目展出於 2016年「愛知三年展」，旨在探討社會設計的 多種可能，以及服裝如何界定我們身份的全新角 度（Fig. 6），這與上文提到的《Self Select》 相呼應。我邀請當地居民捐贈他們不要的衣物， 從而創造出一個公眾衣櫃，參觀者如同走進一間 圖書館，可以自由試穿或借出這些衣物，也可操 作展廳內的縫紉機，以調整尺寸或更改設計。 《Pubrobe》以衣物為媒介，創造出一個可作交 流的不尋常空間。

《Laundry of the Senses》是一項公眾皆可參 與的活動—洗衣和晾衣工作坊（Fig. 7）。我曾 於肯尼亞旅行時，見到當地人如何通過洗衣這件 事令小鎮生機勃勃，如何讓衣服給景觀增添色

Fig. 2 Self Select #111（奧克蘭） 2015 /噴墨打印/高：103厘米 寬：145.6厘米 Fig. 3 Self Select #80（科托努） 2012 /噴墨打印/高：103厘米 寬：145.6厘米

Fig. 4 Overall: Steam Locomotive

2010 舊衣物、樹枝 高：300厘米 寬：250厘米 深：750厘米 攝影：千葉康由

Fig. 5 People’s House: Skirt 2014 舊衣物，一組12件 高：900厘米 寬：400厘米 攝影：島村幸志

Fig. 6 Pubrobe / 2016 舊衣物、衣架、喉通棚架、防火板、鐵絲網、桌、椅、縫紉機、互動裝置 攝影：菊山義浩

Fig. 7 Laundry of the Senses / 2017 /工作坊 Fig. 8 (un) Uniform: Toride Art Project/ 2006 / 舊衣物/攝影：齋藤剛

彩，因而開始思考怎樣通過戶外洗衣活動去刺激人們 的創意，而這並非想否定洗衣、乾衣機的功能。我邀 請參加者一面洗衣，一面雙手創作「音樂」，到鎮上 晾衣時就掛成萬國旗幟，然後在下面享用午餐，好像 日本民眾於賞花時節享用美食的傳統習俗，並素描出 彩衣飄揚的風景。最後，大家滿懷愉悅之情換上新洗 淨的衣物回家。

現今這個活動仍於東北地區的磐城市定期舉行。磐城 市受 2011 年 3 月 11 日的地震及核電洩露事件影響， 很長時間內洗衣晾衣都在室內進行，孩童亦不能在露 天公園玩 耍。《Laundry of the Senses》 在這種情 況下引入，藉著在公共地方進行日常活動（在此指洗 衣），正好切合浩劫後人們的生活需要。

有人會問為何我無視發達的互聯網、手提電話等社交 網路，卻執迷於過時的交流方式，如上文提到以洗衣、 公眾衣櫃去聚集人群。這是因為我受過去所吸引，我 更堅信當代人類行為、生活景觀可以因「過時」的活 動而發生改變。這些活動在過去屬於沒有選擇的艱苦 生活，而在社會高速運轉的今天，人們願意尋找新的 方式體驗生活，從前人的活動中找到樂趣。

即時通訊之運用廣泛、發展迅速可算前所未有，我亦 是這種科技進步的受惠者和倡導者。然而，我們也需 要慢速、親密的交流形式。就拿洗衣這件事為例，使 用機器的歷史，相較於人類用手洗衣的幾千年歷史， 短到可以忽略不計。我們需要不斷回顧歷史，學習較 天然的行為及交流方式。

在進行《(un)Uniform》項目時，我邀請用家參與設計 個人化制服，挑戰統一化的傳統風格。茨城縣舉辦的 「Toride Art Project」藝術節，工作人員可以根據年 度主題顏色自行選擇所穿的服裝，我將這一傳統融入 《(un)Uniform》中，邀請工作人員帶來符合主題顏色 的私人物品，然後一起縫製獨特的制服（Fig. 8）。

之後，我又分別與老婦和兒童合作設計服裝，發展時 裝品牌。一般來說，成人容許兒童遊戲來激發創造 力，給他們剪刀去裁衣在成人眼裡卻仍然不可思議 （Fig. 9），然而兒童若透過裁 衣 ， 已 算 在 參 與 時 裝 和造衣。

「時尚設計」結合製 作 衣 服 是 我近 來的 關 注 重點， 即 如 何 與 老 婦、 小 孩或 其 他 時 裝 業 外 人 士 等 合 作 造 衣， 以 及 造 衣 創 作 過 程 中 進 行 獨 特 的 交 流 形 式 （Fig. 10）。

服裝是人類最親密和熟悉的媒介。個人的衣著、反思 自己的打扮，以至不再執著潮流等創意行為，都使我 們每天生活更加豐富多彩。我想創作衣著的樂趣不應 是時裝品牌的專利，而是屬於每一個人及所有「參與

者」。

西尾美也（日本藝術家）

西尾美也現生活及工作於日本奈良。2011年在東京藝術大 學獲得藝術博士學位後，經日本文化廳贊助到肯雅奈羅比 居住了兩年。他現在是奈良縣立大學的副教授。他的作品 致力探討時裝與傳意的關係，其藝術計劃亦會與世界各地 的居民及學生合作。

參與的聯展包括「Socially Engaged Art」（2017）；「Aichi Triennale」（2016）；「In Progress」（2015）；「Invisible Energy」（2015）；「You reach out – right now – for something: Questing the Concept of Fashion」（2014）； 「Biennale Benin」（2012）；「Echigo – Tsumari Art Triennial」（2009）；「Media_City Seoul」（2006）。

「在藝術實踐中，我試圖恢復人們成為活躍的穿衣者，重塑衣服在溝通方面潛 在的可能性。我嘗試通過不同的藝術項目、工作坊，來設計穿戴或使用衣物的 非常規方法，以多種形式拓寬人們與衣物的互動方式，這其中包括購買、穿著、 更換、洗滌、丟棄等行為，我總稱其為『時尚設計』。」

Fig. 9 Form on Words / 2014 /時裝表演/攝影：湯浅亨

Fig. 10 Form on Words / 2008 /工作坊