Artefacts of the Ordinary and Divine: Relics of the Mundane and Mystical

This project explores collections- both cohesive and non-cohesive as reflections of personal history, cultural influence and subconscious connection. Inspired by my grandmother’s religious iconography and my contemporary assemblage, it creates a visual dialogue by juxtaposing sacred and secular objects. Research developed through expressive collage and detailed drawing allowed exploration of tone, texture, scale and symbolic form, reflecting the project’s dual nature: reverence and chaos, ritual and spontaneity.

Fashion and accessory samples are presented in curated compositions such as tryptics, reimagining symbolic motifs through hand and machine embroidery- tufting, beading and layering- to evoke memory, identity and spiritual resonance. Materials inherited from my grandfather’s garage- wires, metals, plastics, hardware, along with donated glass, handmade buttons, and found objects, embed familial narrative and sustainability. Each sample focuses on reflective design and heritage. This project is of personal significance, where the samples are intended as one-off keepsakes of lasting emotional significance that honour individuality and memory . This additional portfolio project explores Catholic deity dress through the lens of relic collections and traditional Catholic art, reimagining these influences in a contemporary context. Drawing from the iconography and symbolism embedded in ecclesiastical garments and sacred objects, I focus on crafting multifunctional headdresses and body accessories. I looked closely at traditional mitres, caps, and nuns’ headdresses, developing a more accessible, modern interpretation that reimagines their traditional silhouettes for contemporary wearers. Employing bricolage techniques and intricate beadwork, each piece becomes both an artefact and a wearable sculpture. This work extends my ongoing investigation into the intersection of heritage, spirituality, and contemporary textile design, offering a tactile narrative that bridges the historical and the modern, the devotional and the expressive.