WORDS BY THE AUTHOR / A world in which the technology of full immersion is at everybody’s reach. Truth is, humanity is completely unprepared to deal with the product of their own desire. Virtual reality, which has also changed over time, has gained awareness of itself. Underground laboratories run experiments in hopes to save the humanity. The test subjects who are carefully selected are fully immersed in virtual reality, with the mission of preserving their original identity, however, each of the attempts fails as the test subjects return from cyber reality completely changed.
I take references from anime, manga and animated pieces like Ghost in the Shell, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Blame! and Aeon Flux to create the concept of my collection. Besides being fascinated by the strong female characters from the abovementioned sources, I have always been fond of the future and the possible unfolding of events involving technology. Since I strongly believe that the virtual domain is gradually taking over, I envision a future in which the immaterial has a greater weight than the material.
My collection is a process in which I explore the possibilities of the body within the virtual world. I sculpt structures in which I organically navigate between contrasting elements. My aim is to bring together the real world and the virtual domain. Virtual Reality is translated in my collection through the means of macramé and the materials used for it. I have a very intuitive approach when building these structures and sometimes let the materials push the design into a certain direction. Cables, ropes, zippers and deconstructed glasses are only a few pieces of the materials I have used for the macramé shells. Repurposing utensils has always been applied in my creative practice, in my graduation collection for instance, the cable ties were used to secure and interconnect the macramé, and to create a spiky texture, resembling pseudopodia of an unknown organism. The macramé is envisioned as a self-aware entity that attacks one’s body and forms around it as an exoskeleton, to a degree of becoming the body. All this is put in contrast with real-world elements such as classic clothing pieces and bodysuits with muscle tissue-like structures.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR / Otilia Vieru is originally from Moldova and currently lives in Den Haag, The Netherlands. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Art” in Den Haag Graduate in 2019. Catch up with her on Instagram: @otiliavieruofficial
CREDITS /
Otilia Vieru / Fashion and Textile designer @otiliavieruofficial
Marco Verhoogt / Photographer @marco.verhoogt
Anwen / Model
