Emma Wallbanks
1, How did this collection come about, and were there any particularly challenging aspects during the making process?
The collection really started to come together once I came back from my latest trip to Japan towards the end of last year, where I was able to source the fabrics for the pieces, it was an important trip for me, and definitely a very inspiring time, which I hope shows in the work. Perhaps the most challenging aspect was moving house and not having a dedicated studio space to make the work in, but even so, I managed to make it work.
2, Is there a favourite element or piece within this collection for you?
The rusty dye techniques coupled with Chloe’s heat treated silver and the hanging elements we designed together really work well I think.
3, With your background in sculpture and photography, the construction of your garments and silhouettes feels very distinctive and architectural. I can imagine this sense of form relates closely to your studies and artistic background. Where do your silhouettes originate from, and what inspires them?
I don’t cut pattern in a traditional sense, I make garments as one would draw a picture, I’m usually drawn to the selvage, or original hand stitching in the kimono, or some interesting mark the dye has offered to the fabric, I tend to utilise what’s there and build shapes based on that. I like renaissance clothing, and spend time researching collars and cuffs that relate to that period, I then like to mix those ideas with workwear from the 1930s as well as more contemporary ideas around gender and utility. It's a miss match of colliding ideas that I’m attempting to make outside of traditional ways of making.
4, I imagine you must have an incredible wardrobe. Are there particular forms, materials, or aesthetics that you naturally gravitate toward in your personal style?
I love all clothing in one way or another, however, natural fabrics are preferred. I love antique shops and bargain bins as much as I love high end brands like Y’s and Come Des Garçons, The Row and Issey Miyake. Mostly I just love seeing other people embracing fashion in their own unique way, I get heaps of ideas just from looking.
5, Ōtautahi, Christchurch has such a wonderful creative community surrounding it. What is it like for you to live and work within that environment?
It’s special down south, I think people are finally starting to see that. I love the environment here, the mountains and the Moana. My daughter Āio attends kura kaupapa, and through that learning journey with her I feel further connected. The people that chose to stay in Christchurch and create here after the earthquake hold a special place I think, a lot of creative people left or chose to study elsewhere, but I feel like those of us who decided to stay and tough it out amongst a charred and distorted landscape were in turn inspired by the changes around us, and because of that a very strong creative community emerged, of people who are strongly connected to our home and landscape. I’m proud to be in that mix.
6, Your fabrics are sourced mainly from Japan. What does this connection to Japanese materials mean to your practice, and what draws you so strongly to them?
I love Japanese textiles! Kimono are all hand stitched and each contain over four meters of fabric, intended to be unpicked and let out, or in, where necessary, they offer the perfect opportunity to reshape and reconstruct. I’m drawn to the narrow bolts of Japanese fabric, and love to make use of the salvage on most of my designs. Japan has a deeply complex history where textiles are concerned, and these histories are coded into the fabrics, boro fabric are example are layers of layers of repairs that remind me of the importance of recycling and restoring. I’m still learning about these histories, that’s one of the reasons why I keep returning to Japan. I feel connected to this desire to understand a garment as a remnant of the living, that’s why I prefer to make work out of antique fabric, and Japan has a decent stock of old fabrics available.
7, What has it been like collaborating on this exhibition with a close friend and respected artist? What made you both want to create a show together?
It’s been really fun! I originally asked Chloe if she wanted to collaborate with me about three years ago, I just had this idea that her silver work would work well with my garments. Since then we have evolved a lot, we intuitively respond to each other, and there’s often serendipity involved with our creative processing together with feels nice. We’re both parents of daughters, and much of our collaboration happens with our kids around, which I really like, our kids are a special part in all the things we do, and I like that we both share that.
8, Who is your hero?
My dad is my hero. He was a welder, and he used to come home smelling of steel and with spark holes in his clothes and greasy stains on everything, I Think my work often channels this working class energy I inherited from him. He was the best person I ever knew, and I think he would be really proud of me if he were still with us.
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9, Is there something you hope to challenge or explore further in the future?
I would like to make more video work to show with my garments. I studied as a fine artist in video and photography, as well as sculpture, I feel as though my spirit is in the moving image, particularly analog means of making imagery. My goal is to better merge these disparate areas of my practice.
Ngā mihi x
