Pauline van Dongen

Teilnahme an der Ausstellung TECHNOSENSUAL. where fashion meets technology


Symposium TECHNOSENSUAL

Datum: Mi 29.08., 19h
Ort: Arena21, quartier21/MQ
Eintritt frei

Publikumsdiskussion mit V2_Labs, Pauline Van Dongen und Ebru Kurbak zu Haute Tech Couture und mehr. Es moderiert Artist-in-Residence Valérie Lamontagne.

In Kooperation mit monochrom

I was invited to the Artist-in-Residence program by Anouk Wipprecht, who curated the TECHNOSENSUAL exhibition at freiraum quartier21 INTERNATIONAL. Being an innovative fashion designer, I was asked to work with electronic/interactive textile during a one month stay in August 2012. I very much enjoyed living and working in a wonderful studio in the MuseumsQuartier surrounded by an exciting arts and culture scene and a group of incredible people.

My aim for this project was to develop a piece of wearable technology with which I would investigate the undulating surface of the body. I wanted to further explore the idea of erosion, patterns, change and passing of time. As with my previous collection ‘Kinetic Landscapes’ I tried to capture the effect of wind and water on our surroundings and the unremarkable changes in nature which only after decades becomes visible. I started out from the idea that every action has a certain result or consequence; the concept of leaving an imprint after each intervention or a certain interaction and thereby creating an interesting topography on the body. Together with Daniel Schatzmayr [AT], electrical engineer/robot hacker, I developed an interactive garment, by using the principle of flip-dots. These dots are commonly used in a flip-dot display; an electromechanical dot matrix display technology used for large outdoor signs. The movement of these dots is reminiscent of waterfalls, a flock of birds in the sky or a school of fishes in the sea, swirling strata and lines of the earth's surface. I became fascinated by flip-dots because of the fact that they merge both analogue and digital technology. They have a physical presence and tactility, emphasized by their flickering sound, that nowadays digital technology often lacks.
Daniel Schatzmayr designed all the electronics and technology behind this kinetic piece. The company Alfa-Zeta provided the flip-dots of which 600 are covering the upper part of the body. They can be individually addressed by a computer to animate mesmerizing patterns swirling around the body.
I was able to develop part of the construction in Metalab, where I could use a laser cutter to create the base of the design. The outfit has a very small PCB board of 86 x115mm integrated in the back. It has 70 power outputs, a wireless module, an SD card slot, and is able to deliver up to 5A. The dots are connected in a matrix of 30 by 40. In order to flip every dot individually 2 diodes had to be soldered to every flip-dot. In total over 4300 solder connections were made to create the full construction. The flip-dot dress premiered on the 29th of August at the End Symposium of the TechnoSensual Exhibition.

I was very lucky to be assisted by a team of amazing people. Without them it wouldn't have been possible to develop this intricate piece within only one month. Next to all the hard work I enjoyed the beautiful and energetic city of Vienna in summertime. I'm very grateful for the opportunity I have been given and would like to thank all the people that made this possible. It was a very special time; an intense experience that inspired me a lot and out of which many new chances for my future work will arise.