FASHION FROM TREES
The Barkcloth Research Network: Fashion from Trees
(Dr Kirsten Scott and Karen Spurgin from IML; Fred Mutebi, founder of the Bukomansimbi Organic Tree Farmers’ Association; Dr Prabhuraj Venkatraman and Dr Jonathan Butler from Manchester Metropolitan University; Lesli Robertson from Mekeka Designs/Smithsonian Institute).
The Barkcloth Research Network is a multi-national, multi-disciplinary research network comprising artists, designers, artisans, farmers, environmentalists, textile technologists, botanists and medical scientists across the UK, US and Uganda, all investigating, testing and extending the potential of an indigenous, Ugandan textile that has been made from the inner bark of the mutuba (wild fig tree) for hundreds of years.
Guided by local stakeholders in Bukomansimbi, Uganda, the research has evolved ways of working with this beautiful cultural cloth - designated part of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO - in sustainable fashion Each team member brings a different perspective to the project, which we characterise as lenses:
Dr Kirsten Scott has researched the social and cultural history and of barkcloth making in Uganda, its traditional symbolic meaning and contemporary uses, the benefits of the mutuba tree to soil health and uses in integrated farming, and has experimented with garment making in barkcloth to evolve a reconceptualization of fashion that promotes the holistic wellbeing of people and planet; Karen Spurgin has developed natural dyes and coatings for and from barkcloth, to transmit its healing properties to textiles; Dr Prabhuraj Venkatraman has measured the material and mechanical properties of barkcloth, through a series of tests; Lesli Robertson has developed woven fabrics and interior products that integrate barkcloth; Fred Mutebi has created artists’ canvases and paper from barkcloth, and has used these in his own internationally-renowned artworks; and, perhaps most significantly, Dr Jonathan Butler has established the vital role that barkcloth can make in combatting methicillin-resistant wound infections in hospitals, through extensive testing in his laboratory at MMU.
Sub-project 1
How might natural dye extraction methods facilitate the transferability of barkcloth’s antibacterial properties to fabric? Karen Spurgin
Working as part of the BCRN, I have investigated the possibility of inbuilt health and wellbeing associated with the wearing of textiles dyed with barkcloth pigment on the skin. The skin is the largest organ of the human body. It serves a dual purpose: while functioning as a barrier protecting the body from the external environment it can also absorb certain substances. Building upon previous research by BCRN member Dr Jonathan Butler, that has demonstrated the antibacterial properties of barkcloth, this study aims to explore its potential as a source of natural dye that is beneficial to health.
The dye is extracted from the barkcloth following established protocols for natural dye production. Additionally, my work often addresses the goal of zero waste, therefore - conscious that bark cloth is a valuable material - all off-cuts are collected and saved for future use. Soaking the barkcloth scraps in water produces an extract which can be used to dye various fibres and fabrics. The results so far have shown that the dye - when used in conjunction with scoured and mordanted fibres and fabric creates a pink/tan colour. Colour depth can be regulated by the amount of time the textiles are soaked in the dye bath. Initial light tests have been quite successful, particularly with protein fibres such as silk and wool.
A primary focus of the research is to analyse a series of antimicrobial test results on silk fabric in order to assess the extent to which the antibacterial properties of barkcloth may be transferable to the extracted dye and subsequently to the silk fabric (tests conducted at MMU). Additional research focuses on an investigation of the additional properties of natural dyes. I hope to establish whether natural dyes from barkcloth can create distinctly different aesthetics, effects and products than those of mass consumer goods today, through practice-based trials, creating both fabric manipulations and actual garments, to test the concept.
Sub-project 2
Crafting wellbeing: a dynamic collaboration between peoples and trees. Kirsten Scott
Barkcloth, or lubugo, has been produced from the mutuba tree by the Baganda people of southern Uganda since at least the 13thcentury. It represents an entirely sustainable, traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) system where skilled craftsmen work in close collaboration with trees, passing this knowledge down through generations.
After framing an initial research problem with local stakeholders - how to preserve and promote the ancient craft of Ugandan barkcloth making - I began by playing with the cloth, listening to what it wanted to say, what it might be persuaded to do, and then expanding and refining this through a series of experiments, samples, sketches, maquettes and garments. My approach has been to work responsively with the affordances of the cloth rather than to impose a pre-determined design on it.
My practice is supported by field research in Uganda, which includes semi-structured interviews, observation, photographic and video documentation, and by listening: to understand local social and cultural contexts and the challenges, opportunities and benefits of sourcing and working with this radically indigenous textile.
My practice research is frequently repetitive and even meditative in nature, promoting a fluid interchange between practice and theory. The process of making, combined with knowledge gained through fieldwork, and from literature on biophilia and biomechanics, inspired exaggerated curves and distinctive aesthetics that improve the functionality of the garments. It informed a reconceptualization of luxury today as rooted in the wellbeing of peoples and planet. My working hypothesis is that if touching the bark of trees reduces stress, how much more might wearing it?
Team members websites and Instagram handles:
https://kiscot.wixsite.com/botfa/who-we-are
https://www.mmu.ac.uk/staff/profile/dr-jonathan-butler
https://fashioninstitute.mmu.ac.uk/our-staff/dr-prabhuraj-venkatraman/
https://fredmutebi.wordpress.com/about/
@barkclothresearchnetwork
@kirstenscottz
@spurgin_textiles @ao_textiles