Nomadic Nostalgia, 2017.
Made from simple natural materials, Nomadic Nostalgia is a modular, multi-use garment adaptable for the personal environment and the changing global environment. The multi-layer work is composed of an innermost layer of plain unbleached cotton muslin which was indigo resist-dyed, and the second layer of organic cotton batting is dyed with oxalis flowers and rust. This work ruminates on the idea of a nomadic lifestyle carrying everything you need with you. Indigo was historically grown as a cash crop in colonial Bengal. I used this historical dye along with natural dyes from my surroundings in California to communicate the interconnectedness of these two places in the age of globalism and climate change. This interconnectedness is reflected in the proximity of the work to the body, and the work’s modularity. This work attempts to imagine the ideal garment for a climate refugee.