Bilge Merve Aktas
Entangled Fibres
An examination of human-material interaction
100446
Material's role in making has been previously tackled to understand
practices, objects, and society from multiple angles. Recent research on
materials challenges prioritising human perception, experiences and
needs while proposing that materials actively participate in everyday
interactions and experiences through their embedded agencies. This
research examines the active role of material within the context of
design and craft-making. The main research question is: how does
human-material interaction occur, and how does material actively affect
the making processes? This examination is carried out through the case
of felt making via four studies. The first study was conducted at expert
craftspeople's studios and examined how through negotiation the
material and the body become united during making processes. The second
study examined the material in its own environment and at the design
studio and focused on how material interactions affect ideation while
making an artefact through a practice-led study on my own making
process. The third study tackled how the early material engagements of
novice makers might challenge their understanding of being with the
world. By utilising first-hand experiences, this study challenged
established human values to discuss coexisting with other entities in
more responsible ways. The fourth study examined the field of felting
and its material connections to reveal how material agency shapes the
fluidity of the practice within the field.
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