Textile Futures in Second Life

Procedural aspects of the exhibition 'Textile Futures in Second Life' sought to build upon insights from Harris's earlier AHRC funded research, encompassing 3D computer graphic (CG) animated representation of contemporary and historical textiles and dress. At the commencement of this project in 2007 real-time spaces had already permeated international higher education, commercial and leisure realms, proffering new methods for teaching, learning and everyday experiences. However, CG constructed real-time spaces were generally considered aesthetically challenging and visually synthetic, with little evidence that they may be conducive to the aesthetically and materially driven practice of textile design, the premise for this work. This project aimed to: expand understanding of how material practices may be curated using alternative digital methods in a simple real-time context; represent diverse material examples from participating designers, interpret and repurpose established works; and advance the perception of digital imaging realms and media to improve implementation and engagement with textile practitioners and broader audiences. Harris considered how a range of physical textile works (22) and processes may be digitally translated for a virtual exhibition. While interpretation methods were limited by the relatively crude nature of ‘real-time’ CG tooling, the project facilitated novel engagements with CGI technology, provided insights as to how physical textile forms may be represented differently digitally, and proposed new approaches to physical design practice