GLASSFORMER
2023
Linen, Viscose, Elastane, Cotton
In my shower one day, I experienced a moment where in the steamed air, the glass of the cubicle and my shower curtain seemed to become one, becoming solid. I admire textiles because of their nature to transform and take the shape of whatever object it is made into or the environment it is placed in.
Glassformer is an adaptable, 3-dimensional woven fabric. Produced in two parts, it is first woven on an industrial loom, where three layers of the fabric are woven together at the same time. Post-weaving, the fabric is steamed to allow the linen and elastane in the middle layer to shrink and raise the top and bottom layers. Through its material and structure, the textile feels crisp and holds shape and yet malleable and soft.
The curtain is hung up beside the glass of the shower area, thin and flat. After first hanging it up, it appeared almost paper-like, and all these creases from the packaging, plastic crushed. I can trace lines on the shadows of those folds, and watch them continue onto the pale glass, the droplets from the steam running down. When the curtain is pulled, the boundary separating the glass and fabric seems to fade, and I find myself looking at a merged corner of a translucent box. In the steamed air, the curtain seems to become a glass itself, soft yet solid, a shield from the outside.
