# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
History of Denim & the Origin of Jeans | Hawthorn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
History of Denim & the Origin of Jeans Denim jeans have become an integral part of everyday life, so much so that most of us never stop to question where our favourite pair came from, how they were manufactured, nor their history. Despite the range of innovative

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Textiles weave through our everyday lives yet remain one of the most underexamined mediums in art history and contemporary practice. The universality of fabric has made it a potent messenger across global contexts - whether communicating personal stories or conveying hidden messages. Embedded in a single thread is the material history of the medium, revealing ideas relating to gender, labour, value, ecology, ancestral knowledge, and histories of oppression, extraction and trade. considers the various ways in which artists have used textiles to speak to stories of marginalisation and exclusion, as well as emancipatory joy and transcendence. The show's earliest works were created in the 1960s, when many artists were pushing the sculptural boundaries of the medium and challenging the limiting parameters of 'fine art' and 'craft'. Expanding across both time and geography, the exhibition presents six themes - '

From 13 February 2024, Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art shines a light on artists from the 1960s to today who have explored the transformative and subversive potential of textiles, harnessing the medium to ask charged questions about power: who holds it, and how can it be challenged and reclaimed? Spanning intimate hand-crafted pieces to large-scale sculptural installations, this major exhibition brings together over 100 artworks by 50 international practitioners.Drawn to the tactile processes of stitching, weaving, braiding, beading and knotting, these artists have embraced fibre and thread to tell stories that challenge power structures, transgress boundaries and reimagine the world around them.

Organised thematically, with artists placed in intergenerational and transcultural dialogues, Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art

Subversive Stitch', ' Fabric of Everyday Life', ' Borderlands', ' Bearing Witness', ' Shanay Jhaveri, Head of Visual Arts, Barbican, said: Wound and Repair' and ' Ancestral Threads' - which together explore the role of textiles in artistic practices that challenge dominant narratives, push up against regimes of power, and manifest an enduring spirit of hope. " We are delighted to be opening our 2024 season with Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art . This truly expansive show weaves together an international, intergenerational array of artists and artworks, bound by their engagement with the practice of textiles - at once intimate and capacious in its reach across cultures, geographies, and ages. From the minutiae of daily life to the global movement of peoples, the vast scope of this exhibition speaks to the international ambitions of the Barbican Visual Arts programme, as well as to our work closer to home, where the threads of our arts offering unspool beyond the confines of the gallery walls and into our public spaces. "

Guided by artworks that are radical in their form and their politics, the exhibition sets out to ask why textiles are a particularly resonant medium to address ideas of gender and sexuality, the movement and displacement of people, and histories of extraction and violence, as well as understanding the world through connecting with ancestral practices and communing with nature. The exhibited artworks encompass a wide range of forms, scales and techniques, drawing on historic forms of making as well as new and experimental processes.

Works on display include:

Embroidered blankets by Feliciano Centurión who - harnessing the association of textile as a gendered, feminine craft - embroidered poetic reflections onto found fabrics to process his HIV diagnosis in 1993.

An intimate installation of 64 items of clothing wrapped in unspooled yarn by Sheila Hicks, a leader of the fibre art movement in the 1960s whose work challenged the prevailing hierarchy between art and craft at the time.

T. Vinoja's delicately handstitched aerial landscapes inspired by testimonies from the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983-2009) that use the language of maps and borders to explore ideas such as loss, mourning and forced displacement.

Two tapestries and films by Teresa Margolles whose collaboratively-made, handstitched works commemorate the lives of individuals - Eric Garner in Staten Island and Jadeth Rosano López in Panama City - who were brutally killed . work was placed in contact with the body of the deceased, harnessing the ability of to carry memory.

Harmony Hammond's large-scale work Bandaged Grid #9 in which cloths and rags are applied to the surface of reclaimed canvas to suggest bandages over seeping wounds, reflecting on the way artists have used textiles to express healing and reparation.

's figurative sculpture Boy On A Globe which, using his signature Dutch Wax fabrics, addresses race, class and the legacy of imperialism by reflecting on colonial trade and the entangled economic histories embedded within fabrics.

Larger-than-life, deity-like macramé sculptures by Mrinalini Mukherjee, which surge up from the ground as though organic beings. Drawing on nature and myriad artistic references, their knotted, rippling forms confound expectations of textiles as two-dimensional.

Cecilia Vicuña's spatial installation Quipu Austral which, drawing on the history of textiles as ancient systems of communication, links the oppression of pre-colonial cultures to the devastation of the earth's natural resources.

Participating artists:

, (Chile), Pacita Abad (The Philippines / USA), Teresa Margolles (Mexico), Solange Pessoa (Brazil), Loretta Pettway (Gee's Bend) (USA), Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín (Guatemala), Faith Ringgold (USA), LJ Roberts (USA), Zamthingla Ruivah (India), Hannah Ryggen (Norway), Tschabalala Self (USA), Yinka Shonibare CBE RA (UK), Mounira Al Solh (Lebanon), Angela Su (Hong Kong), Lenore Tawney (USA), T. Vinoja (Sri Lanka), Cecilia Vicuña (Chile), Billie Zangewa (Malawi / South Africa), and Sarah Zapata (Peru / USA). Georgina Maxim (Zimbabwe), Małgorzata Mirga-Tas (Poland), Mrinalini Mukherjee (India), Magdalena Abakanowicz (Poland), Igshaan Adams (South Africa), Ghada Amer (Egypt/France), Arpilleristas (Chile), Mercedes Azpilicueta (Argentina), Yto Barrada (Morocco), Kevin Beasley (USA), Sanford Biggers (USA), Louise Bourgeois (France / USA), Diedrick Brackens (USA), Jagoda Buić (Croatia), Margarita Cabrera (Mexico / USA), Feliciano Centurión (Paraguay), Judy Chicago (USA), Myrlande Constant (Haiti), Cian Dayrit (The Philippines), Tracey Emin (UK), Jeffrey Gibson (USA), Antonio Jose Guzman and Iva Jankovic (The Netherlands / Panama and The Netherlands / Yugoslavia), Harmony Hammond (USA), Sheila Hicks (USA), Nicholas Hlobo (South Africa), Yee I-Lann (Malaysia), Kimsooja (South Korea), Acaye Kerunen (Uganda), José Leonilson (Brazil), Tau Lewis (Canada),

In response to the Barbican's decision not to host the London Review of Books (LRB) Winter Lecture Series, some artists and lenders have withdrawn works, provided statements or made other interventions as an act of solidarity with Palestine. We respect the decisions of those involved and you can read our statement on this

This exhibition is co-curated by the Barbican, London and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam,where it will be on show from 14 September 2024 to 5 January 2025.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art | Barbican

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Textiles weave through our everyday lives yet remain one of the most underexamined mediums in art history and contemporary practice. The universality of fabric has made it a potent messenger across global contexts - whether communicating personal stories or conveying hidden messages.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What is Boro Stitching? The raw simplicity and functional beauty of the boro artform is something that I’ve adored for some time. I get a lot […]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
To reach both the companies' ambitions aiming for only using renewable and recycled materials by 2030¹, a key step is to find clean and reliable sources of recyclable materials. To tackle these industrywide challenges, H&M Group and Inter IKEA Group initiated a large-scale study in 2019, looking at chemical content in recycled textiles. The aim of the study has been to strategically increase knowledge, and overcome challenges to exchange data, and stimulate chemical transparency across the industry.

Collaboration is essential to enable real change within the textile industry, and during the autumn of 2020, adidas, Bestseller, Kingfisher, Gap Inc,. and PVH Corp. joined the study as contributors. With all involved companies' size and presence, there is a great opportunity to lead the way. Even though the study is now finalized, a lot of work still needs to be done. "With industry collaboration, we can overcome common challenges on our way to transform to a circular business. This study has enabled us to share data through a digital platform, creating transparency and knowledge sharing, as well as creating facts to support us in taking our next steps on our journey to only use recycled and renewable materials, "says Mirjam Luc, Project leader for Recycled Textiles at IKEA of Sweden.

Post-consumer cotton, wool, and polyester waste sourced from different regions of the world were tested, resulting in a total of 70,080 data points. 2.5% of the data points showed undesirable detections, but less than 1% of the data points exceeded AFIRM RSL2 limits. Post-consumer polyester samples had the widest variety of substances detected. In post-consumer wool samples almost all samples contained at least one substance that failed against AFIRM RSL limits. Tackling the presence of legacy chemicals and hazardous chemicals in recycled materials will be key in realizing circularity within the fashion and textile industry.

"To achieve fully circular and future-proof products, legacy chemicals must be avoided from start. Only through industry collaboration and a transparent, harmonized hazard assessment methodology for all chemicals and materials - can we be proactive and secure safe and sustainable products for a toxic-free textile future." says Linn Farhadi, Project Manager for Recycled Textiles at H&M Group.

IKEA and H&M Group will use the findings of the study to support public policy to enable usage of recycled textiles, which are safe to use. The results will also be used to advocate for establishing an acknowledged and harmonised hazard assessment methodology for chemicals used in production. This ensures that brands can assess the best available chemicals from a safety and recyclability perspective. Any chemicals hampering recycling and material recovery should be restricted.

"It's great to see companies working together to gain increased knowledge about the chemical content of recycled textiles. We hope that studies like these will result in cleaner material flows and also motivate legislators to speed up the work with phasing out hazardous substances in products", says Theresa Kjell, Senior Policy Advisor at ChemSec.

¹H&M Group's goal is to only use 100% recycled or other sustainably sourced materials by 2030.

² AFIRM Restricted Substances List (Apparel and Footwear Internati onal RSL Management (AFIRM) Group)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Transform the way we use recycled textiles - IKEA Global

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Large scale study from IKEA and H&M Group shows potential to transform the way we use recycled textiles.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sonia Gomes combines secondhand textiles with everyday materials, such as furniture, driftwood, and wire, to create abstract sculptures that reclaim Afro-Brazilian traditions and feminized crafts from the margins of history.

Juxtaposing tensile and slack forms, Gomes's contorted sculptures exude a corporeality and dynamism that she attributes to her love of popular Brazilian dances. Gomes uses found or gifted fabrics, which, according to her, "bring the history of the people that they belonged to." "I give a new significance to them," she adds. Her assemblages thus tie Brazil's historical trajectory to the long-disregarded narratives of women, people of color, and countless anonymous individuals.

Through its recycling of used fabric, Gomes's work also evinces a principle of thrift that is both a consequence of Brazil's rapid and uneven industrial development and a dissenting answer to its accompanying culture of wasteful consumption and environmental destruction. As a whole, her art is marked by a decolonizing impulse, providing oblique responses to the social inequities and ecological urgencies of present-day Brazil and, more broadly, a globalized world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sonia Gomes combines secondhand textiles with everyday materials, such as furniture, driftwood, and wire, to create abstract sculptures that reclaim Afro-Brazilian traditions and feminized crafts from the margins of history.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
River of Garbage in the Indian capital of Delhi - appaling reality of urban India

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What did we do?

Immediately after the collapse we helped realize the creation of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh in May 2013 and campaigned for brands to sign on. It was subsequently signed by over 200 companies. The Rana Plaza Arrangement was created afterwards to coordinate compensation for the affected families.

No amount of money can make up for the loss of a loved one or the resulting physical and emotional scars inflicted on those who survived such a tragedy. But what is also true is that the survivors and victims' families should be compensated for the financial and medical losses they sustained as a direct result of the disaster.

With our partners in Bangladesh we identified at least 29 global brands that had recent or current orders with at least one of the five garment factories in the Rana Plaza building, including Benetton (Italy), Bonmarche (UK), Cato Fashions (USA), The Children's Place (USA), El Corte Ingles (Spain), Joe Fresh (Loblaws, Canada), Kik (Germany), Mango (Spain), Matalan (UK), Primark (UK/Ireland) and Texman (Denmark).

Each of these brands was a complicit participant in the creation of an environment that ultimately led to the deaths and maiming of thousands of individuals. Calculations based on International Labour Organisation convention 121 showed that the families of those affected by the Rana Plaza collapse are owed $30 million in compensation.

We campaigned hard to convince all brands in who sourced from Rana Plaza, and essentially all brands in Bangladesh should contribute according to their ability to pay, the size of their relationship with Bangladesh and their relationship with Rana Plaza.

We campaigned for over two years to make brands take their responsibility and pay into the trust fund or increase their contribution if their first payment was insufficient.

We collected over 1 million signatures to make Benetton pay up an appropriate amount. There was irrefutable evidence exposing their direct link to Rana Plaza - photographs of the Benetton labels in the building rubble, and documentation of order forms from the New Wave Factory in the Rana Plaza building.

Following initial denials from the company in regard to their link to Rana Plaza, they later publicly acknowledged that New Wave Style was a supplier for Benetton. The fact that brands like Benetton kept dragging their feet only prolonged the suffering of the workers impacted by Rana Plaza. Some brands linked to the disaster even never paid up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building in Bangladesh was the worst ever industrial incident to hit the garment industry. It was followed by a struggle for justice for the Rana Plaza workers and safe factories for all.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The true art behind being handmade.

Making handmade textiles requires a lot of patience, an eye for detail, and an artistic hand. It uses solely the power of the human ability to manually weave the fabric, no electricity.

The small and minute imperfections, are quite actually, a beautiful reflection of all of the hands that have gone into creating the textile. It is a intricate, slow process and each weave can weave up to 3 yards of fabric a day, taking months to produce. Hand looming is a timeless tradition, and still today employs more people than machine made fabric. We work with several weavers in the rural towns of West Bengal, India to produce our textiles.

Woman sitting on her porch winding the dyed yarns into spools. Dyed yarn being stretched almost a city block distance. Starch is applied to the yarns to prep for weaving. The Essentials
-

Weaving is done by intersecting the longitudinal threads (warp), with the transverse threads (weft). The loom is made of a series of wooden beams, ropes, pulleys, and shafts. Setting up the warp on the loom is a tedious process and can take up to takes 2-3 days. Each weft yarn is then woven into the warp with the help of shuttle and pedals; without the use of any electricity

Nothing like seeing the true artist at work. Seen pictured below, is the cotton twill textile, on the loom, for the Kimono Jacket and Sunday Pants from SS2020 collection.
Take a look at one of the artisans at work on the loom!
There are countless forms of textile design to regions all over India and the world. Handlooming has a direct connection to it's culture, it's history, and the people of each community. T he aesthetic and skill is handed down from generation to generation for centuries. Handloomed fabric provides stories. It is history, family and culture in material form.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The true art behind being handmade. Making handmade textiles requires a lot of patience, an eye for detail, and an artistic hand. It uses solely the power of the human ability to manually weave the fabric, no electricity.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Sonia Gomes combines secondhand textiles with everyday materials, such as furniture, driftwood, and wire, to create abstract sculptures that reclaim Afro-Brazilian traditions and feminized crafts from the margins of history.

Juxtaposing tensile and slack forms, Gomes's contorted sculptures exude a corporeality and dynamism that she attributes to her love of popular Brazilian dances. Gomes uses found or gifted fabrics, which, according to her, "bring the history of the people that they belonged to." "I give a new significance to them," she adds. Her assemblages thus tie Brazil's historical trajectory to the long-disregarded narratives of women, people of color, and countless anonymous individuals.

Through its recycling of used fabric, Gomes's work also evinces a principle of thrift that is both a consequence of Brazil's rapid and uneven industrial development and a dissenting answer to its accompanying culture of wasteful consumption and environmental destruction. As a whole, her art is marked by a decolonizing impulse, providing oblique responses to the social inequities and ecological urgencies of present-day Brazil and, more broadly, a globalized world.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Sonia Gomes combines secondhand textiles with everyday materials, such as furniture, driftwood, and wire, to create abstract sculptures that reclaim Afro-Brazilian traditions and feminized crafts from the margins of history.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
History of Denim & the Origin of Jeans | Hawthorn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
History of Denim & the Origin of Jeans Denim jeans have become an integral part of everyday life, so much so that most of us never stop to question where our favourite pair came from, how they were manufactured, nor their history. Despite the range of innovative

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
What did we do?

Immediately after the collapse we helped realize the creation of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh in May 2013 and campaigned for brands to sign on. It was subsequently signed by over 200 companies. The Rana Plaza Arrangement was created afterwards to coordinate compensation for the affected families.

No amount of money can make up for the loss of a loved one or the resulting physical and emotional scars inflicted on those who survived such a tragedy. But what is also true is that the survivors and victims' families should be compensated for the financial and medical losses they sustained as a direct result of the disaster.

With our partners in Bangladesh we identified at least 29 global brands that had recent or current orders with at least one of the five garment factories in the Rana Plaza building, including Benetton (Italy), Bonmarche (UK), Cato Fashions (USA), The Children's Place (USA), El Corte Ingles (Spain), Joe Fresh (Loblaws, Canada), Kik (Germany), Mango (Spain), Matalan (UK), Primark (UK/Ireland) and Texman (Denmark).

Each of these brands was a complicit participant in the creation of an environment that ultimately led to the deaths and maiming of thousands of individuals. Calculations based on International Labour Organisation convention 121 showed that the families of those affected by the Rana Plaza collapse are owed $30 million in compensation.

We campaigned hard to convince all brands in who sourced from Rana Plaza, and essentially all brands in Bangladesh should contribute according to their ability to pay, the size of their relationship with Bangladesh and their relationship with Rana Plaza.

We campaigned for over two years to make brands take their responsibility and pay into the trust fund or increase their contribution if their first payment was insufficient.

We collected over 1 million signatures to make Benetton pay up an appropriate amount. There was irrefutable evidence exposing their direct link to Rana Plaza - photographs of the Benetton labels in the building rubble, and documentation of order forms from the New Wave Factory in the Rana Plaza building.

Following initial denials from the company in regard to their link to Rana Plaza, they later publicly acknowledged that New Wave Style was a supplier for Benetton. The fact that brands like Benetton kept dragging their feet only prolonged the suffering of the workers impacted by Rana Plaza. Some brands linked to the disaster even never paid up.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The collapse of the Rana Plaza factory building in Bangladesh was the worst ever industrial incident to hit the garment industry. It was followed by a struggle for justice for the Rana Plaza workers and safe factories for all.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Textiles weave through our everyday lives yet remain one of the most underexamined mediums in art history and contemporary practice. The universality of fabric has made it a potent messenger across global contexts - whether communicating personal stories or conveying hidden messages. Embedded in a single thread is the material history of the medium, revealing ideas relating to gender, labour, value, ecology, ancestral knowledge, and histories of oppression, extraction and trade. considers the various ways in which artists have used textiles to speak to stories of marginalisation and exclusion, as well as emancipatory joy and transcendence. The show's earliest works were created in the 1960s, when many artists were pushing the sculptural boundaries of the medium and challenging the limiting parameters of 'fine art' and 'craft'. Expanding across both time and geography, the exhibition presents six themes - '

From 13 February 2024, Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art shines a light on artists from the 1960s to today who have explored the transformative and subversive potential of textiles, harnessing the medium to ask charged questions about power: who holds it, and how can it be challenged and reclaimed? Spanning intimate hand-crafted pieces to large-scale sculptural installations, this major exhibition brings together over 100 artworks by 50 international practitioners.Drawn to the tactile processes of stitching, weaving, braiding, beading and knotting, these artists have embraced fibre and thread to tell stories that challenge power structures, transgress boundaries and reimagine the world around them.

Organised thematically, with artists placed in intergenerational and transcultural dialogues, Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art

Subversive Stitch', ' Fabric of Everyday Life', ' Borderlands', ' Bearing Witness', ' Shanay Jhaveri, Head of Visual Arts, Barbican, said: Wound and Repair' and ' Ancestral Threads' - which together explore the role of textiles in artistic practices that challenge dominant narratives, push up against regimes of power, and manifest an enduring spirit of hope. " We are delighted to be opening our 2024 season with Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art . This truly expansive show weaves together an international, intergenerational array of artists and artworks, bound by their engagement with the practice of textiles - at once intimate and capacious in its reach across cultures, geographies, and ages. From the minutiae of daily life to the global movement of peoples, the vast scope of this exhibition speaks to the international ambitions of the Barbican Visual Arts programme, as well as to our work closer to home, where the threads of our arts offering unspool beyond the confines of the gallery walls and into our public spaces. "

Guided by artworks that are radical in their form and their politics, the exhibition sets out to ask why textiles are a particularly resonant medium to address ideas of gender and sexuality, the movement and displacement of people, and histories of extraction and violence, as well as understanding the world through connecting with ancestral practices and communing with nature. The exhibited artworks encompass a wide range of forms, scales and techniques, drawing on historic forms of making as well as new and experimental processes.

Works on display include:

Embroidered blankets by Feliciano Centurión who - harnessing the association of textile as a gendered, feminine craft - embroidered poetic reflections onto found fabrics to process his HIV diagnosis in 1993.

An intimate installation of 64 items of clothing wrapped in unspooled yarn by Sheila Hicks, a leader of the fibre art movement in the 1960s whose work challenged the prevailing hierarchy between art and craft at the time.

T. Vinoja's delicately handstitched aerial landscapes inspired by testimonies from the Sri Lankan Civil War (1983-2009) that use the language of maps and borders to explore ideas such as loss, mourning and forced displacement.

Two tapestries and films by Teresa Margolles whose collaboratively-made, handstitched works commemorate the lives of individuals - Eric Garner in Staten Island and Jadeth Rosano López in Panama City - who were brutally killed . work was placed in contact with the body of the deceased, harnessing the ability of to carry memory.

Harmony Hammond's large-scale work Bandaged Grid #9 in which cloths and rags are applied to the surface of reclaimed canvas to suggest bandages over seeping wounds, reflecting on the way artists have used textiles to express healing and reparation.

's figurative sculpture Boy On A Globe which, using his signature Dutch Wax fabrics, addresses race, class and the legacy of imperialism by reflecting on colonial trade and the entangled economic histories embedded within fabrics.

Larger-than-life, deity-like macramé sculptures by Mrinalini Mukherjee, which surge up from the ground as though organic beings. Drawing on nature and myriad artistic references, their knotted, rippling forms confound expectations of textiles as two-dimensional.

Cecilia Vicuña's spatial installation Quipu Austral which, drawing on the history of textiles as ancient systems of communication, links the oppression of pre-colonial cultures to the devastation of the earth's natural resources.

Participating artists:

, (Chile), Pacita Abad (The Philippines / USA), Teresa Margolles (Mexico), Solange Pessoa (Brazil), Loretta Pettway (Gee's Bend) (USA), Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín (Guatemala), Faith Ringgold (USA), LJ Roberts (USA), Zamthingla Ruivah (India), Hannah Ryggen (Norway), Tschabalala Self (USA), Yinka Shonibare CBE RA (UK), Mounira Al Solh (Lebanon), Angela Su (Hong Kong), Lenore Tawney (USA), T. Vinoja (Sri Lanka), Cecilia Vicuña (Chile), Billie Zangewa (Malawi / South Africa), and Sarah Zapata (Peru / USA). Georgina Maxim (Zimbabwe), Małgorzata Mirga-Tas (Poland), Mrinalini Mukherjee (India), Magdalena Abakanowicz (Poland), Igshaan Adams (South Africa), Ghada Amer (Egypt/France), Arpilleristas (Chile), Mercedes Azpilicueta (Argentina), Yto Barrada (Morocco), Kevin Beasley (USA), Sanford Biggers (USA), Louise Bourgeois (France / USA), Diedrick Brackens (USA), Jagoda Buić (Croatia), Margarita Cabrera (Mexico / USA), Feliciano Centurión (Paraguay), Judy Chicago (USA), Myrlande Constant (Haiti), Cian Dayrit (The Philippines), Tracey Emin (UK), Jeffrey Gibson (USA), Antonio Jose Guzman and Iva Jankovic (The Netherlands / Panama and The Netherlands / Yugoslavia), Harmony Hammond (USA), Sheila Hicks (USA), Nicholas Hlobo (South Africa), Yee I-Lann (Malaysia), Kimsooja (South Korea), Acaye Kerunen (Uganda), José Leonilson (Brazil), Tau Lewis (Canada),

In response to the Barbican's decision not to host the London Review of Books (LRB) Winter Lecture Series, some artists and lenders have withdrawn works, provided statements or made other interventions as an act of solidarity with Palestine. We respect the decisions of those involved and you can read our statement on this

This exhibition is co-curated by the Barbican, London and Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam,where it will be on show from 14 September 2024 to 5 January 2025.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Unravel: The Power and Politics of Textiles in Art | Barbican

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Textiles weave through our everyday lives yet remain one of the most underexamined mediums in art history and contemporary practice. The universality of fabric has made it a potent messenger across global contexts - whether communicating personal stories or conveying hidden messages.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds.

Jun 4, 2023 · Revive your worn-out jeans with sashiko and whipstitches! This step-by-step tutorial will guide ...
Duration: 9:23
Posted: Jun 4, 2023

What is the best stitch for mending denim?

Can denim be repaired?

How do you hand mend jeans?

Apr 19, 2023 · How do you repair jeans with a hole in them? Try using visible mending as a unique way to add ...
Duration: 7:25
Posted: Apr 19, 2023

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Please click here if you are not redirected within a few seconds. Jun 4, 2023 · Revive your worn-out jeans with sashiko and whipstitches! This step-by-step tutorial will guide ...Duration: 9:23 Posted: Jun 4, 2023 What is the best stitch for mending denim? Can denim be repaired? How do you hand mend jeans?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
What is Boro Stitching? The raw simplicity and functional beauty of the boro artform is something that I’ve adored for some time. I get a lot […]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
textile tapestry sculpture fiber artist art paris ford foundation stella mccartney alison jacques mint museum

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
To reach both the companies' ambitions aiming for only using renewable and recycled materials by 2030¹, a key step is to find clean and reliable sources of recyclable materials. To tackle these industrywide challenges, H&M Group and Inter IKEA Group initiated a large-scale study in 2019, looking at chemical content in recycled textiles. The aim of the study has been to strategically increase knowledge, and overcome challenges to exchange data, and stimulate chemical transparency across the industry.

Collaboration is essential to enable real change within the textile industry, and during the autumn of 2020, adidas, Bestseller, Kingfisher, Gap Inc,. and PVH Corp. joined the study as contributors. With all involved companies' size and presence, there is a great opportunity to lead the way. Even though the study is now finalized, a lot of work still needs to be done. "With industry collaboration, we can overcome common challenges on our way to transform to a circular business. This study has enabled us to share data through a digital platform, creating transparency and knowledge sharing, as well as creating facts to support us in taking our next steps on our journey to only use recycled and renewable materials, "says Mirjam Luc, Project leader for Recycled Textiles at IKEA of Sweden.

Post-consumer cotton, wool, and polyester waste sourced from different regions of the world were tested, resulting in a total of 70,080 data points. 2.5% of the data points showed undesirable detections, but less than 1% of the data points exceeded AFIRM RSL2 limits. Post-consumer polyester samples had the widest variety of substances detected. In post-consumer wool samples almost all samples contained at least one substance that failed against AFIRM RSL limits. Tackling the presence of legacy chemicals and hazardous chemicals in recycled materials will be key in realizing circularity within the fashion and textile industry.

"To achieve fully circular and future-proof products, legacy chemicals must be avoided from start. Only through industry collaboration and a transparent, harmonized hazard assessment methodology for all chemicals and materials - can we be proactive and secure safe and sustainable products for a toxic-free textile future." says Linn Farhadi, Project Manager for Recycled Textiles at H&M Group.

IKEA and H&M Group will use the findings of the study to support public policy to enable usage of recycled textiles, which are safe to use. The results will also be used to advocate for establishing an acknowledged and harmonised hazard assessment methodology for chemicals used in production. This ensures that brands can assess the best available chemicals from a safety and recyclability perspective. Any chemicals hampering recycling and material recovery should be restricted.

"It's great to see companies working together to gain increased knowledge about the chemical content of recycled textiles. We hope that studies like these will result in cleaner material flows and also motivate legislators to speed up the work with phasing out hazardous substances in products", says Theresa Kjell, Senior Policy Advisor at ChemSec.

¹H&M Group's goal is to only use 100% recycled or other sustainably sourced materials by 2030.

² AFIRM Restricted Substances List (Apparel and Footwear Internati onal RSL Management (AFIRM) Group)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Transform the way we use recycled textiles - IKEA Global

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Large scale study from IKEA and H&M Group shows potential to transform the way we use recycled textiles.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How To Break The Cycle Of Fast Fashion...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Not sure how to avoid fast fashion and the fast fashion cycle? Wondering what are some solutions to fast fashion and looking for alternatives to fast fashion…

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The extremely -detrimental impact of fast fashion waste on the environment is no news. Besides being responsible for nearly 10% of global carbon emissions, the industry is also infamously known for the amount of resources it wastes and the millions of clothes ending up in landfills every day. Here are 10 highly concerning statistics about textile waste.
10 Statistics About Fast Fashion Waste

1. 92 million tonnes of textiles waste is produced every year

Of the 100 billion garments produced each year, 92 million tonnes end up in landfills. To put things in perspective, this means that the equivalent of a rubbish truck full of clothes ends up on landfill sites every second . If the trend continues, the number of fast fashion waste is expected to soar up to 134 million tonnes a year by the end of the decade.

2. The apparel industry's global emissions will increase by 50% by 2030

If a business-as-usual scenario prevails in the coming years - meaning that no action is taken to reduce fast fashion waste - the industry's global emissions will likely double by the end of the decade.

3. The average US consumer throws away 81.5lbs of clothes every year

In America alone, an estimated 11.3 million tons of textile waste - equivalent to 85% of all textiles - end up in landfills on a yearly basis. That's equivalent to approximately (37 kilograms) per person per year and around 2,150 pieces per second countrywide.

4. The number of times a garment is worn has declined by around 36% in 15 years

The throwaway culture has worsen progressively over the years. At present, many items are worn only seven to ten times before being tossed. That's a decline of more than 35% in just 15 years.

5. The fashion industry is responsible for 20% of global waste water

Dyeing and finishing - the processes by which colour and other chemicals are applied to fabrics - are responsible for 3% of global CO2 emissions as well as over 20% of global water pollution. Along with yarn preparation and fibre production, these two processes have the highest impacts on resource depletion , due to the energy-intensive processes based on fossil fuel energy.

6. It takes 20,000 litres of water to produce one kilogram of cotton

Besides being a huge source of water pollution, fast fashion also contributes to massive quantities of water being wasted every day. If this is difficult to picture, just think that about 2,700 litres of water are needed to make just one t-shirt, which would be enough for one person to drink for 900 days. Moreover, a single load of washing uses between 50 and 60 litres of water.
You might also like: Is Hong Kong's Avant-Garde Textile Recycling Facility a Real Solution to Fast Fashion Problems?
7. $500 billion is lost each year because of under-wearing and failure to recycle clothes

The worst aspect of our reckless thrown-away culture is that the vast majority of clothes being tossed each year is not recycled. Globally, just 12% of the material used for clothing ends up being recycled. Much of the problem comes down to the materials our clothes are made from and inadequate technologies to recycle them. "The fabrics we drape over our bodies are complex combinations of fibres, fixtures and accessories. They are made from problematic blends of natural yarns, man-made filaments, plastics and metals."

8. Nearly 10% of microplastics dispersed in the ocean each year come from textiles

Garments are a huge source of microplastics because so many are now made of nylon or polyester, both durable and cheap. Each wash and dry cycle, especially the latter, sheds microfilaments that move through our sewage systems and end up in waterways. It is estimated that half a million tons of these contaminants reach the ocean each year. That's the equivalent to the plastic pollution of more than 50 billion bottles.

9. 2.6 million tonnes of returned clothes ended up in landfills in 2020 in the US alone

Most of the items returned to retailers from consumers end up in landfill. This is mainly because it costs more to the company to put them back in circulation than to get rid of them. Reverse logistics company Optoro also estimates that in the same year, 16 million tonnes of CO2 emissions were created by online returns in the US in 2020 - the equivalent to the emissions of 3.5 million cars on the road for a year.

10. Fast fashion brands are producing twice the amount of clothes today than in 2000

This dramatic increase in production has also caused an increase in both pre- and post-production textile waste . Due to the number of cut outs for the clothing, a large number of materials get wasted as they cannot be used any further, with one study estimating that 15% of fabric used in garment manufacturing is wasted. Post-production, 60% of approximately 150 million garments produced globally in 2012 were discarded just a few years after production.

What Can I Do?

1. On A Personal Level

Ways to approach climate action within our personal lives (hint - it evolves personal action but is not focused on small behavioural changes, which whilst worthwhile will not get us there):

Joining a community can be one of the best ways to increase your impact.

First, it can enable you to make hundreds of connections in one go.

Second, a group of people working together can have more impact than individuals. If you are not already, take action by becoming an to support our mission to encourage a billion climate activists.

If you're a younger read ask your parents to take action by bringing your whole family on board as a Family Member.

Reflect on the concept of Effective Altruism , a project that aims to find the best ways to help others, and put them into practice.

Ways to approach climate action within the workplace:

Maintain your career path but consider donating a portion of your income to organisations that are focused on achieving meaningful & impactful goals and call out your boss if the company or organisation you work for does not have clear policies that will result in reduced harm to the environment and a pathway to Net Zero.

Ask your boss to support EO by bringing the whole team onboard with EO company membership - and take action together.

Reconsider your career path, with excellent advice .

Research for this article was conducted by Earth.Org research contributor Chloe Lam You might also like: Fast Fashion and Its Environmental Impact
3. On A Political Level

Ways to approach climate action as a voter or political actor (even if you can't vote):

Protest - make your feelings known - become a vocal and passionate advocate with friends and family (without being over pushy) of the need for climate action. We need a billion activists to turn this ship around.

Join organisations that are organising climate actions and protests locally, whether in your city, district, or even at school.

Vote (if you can) for politicians who will champion effective climate action by governments.

Vote for parties or organisations that espouse self-reform and the adoption of ' Ministers of the Future ' into government.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Concerning Fast Fashion Waste Statistics | Earth.Org

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Besides being responsible for nearly 10% of global carbon emissions, the fashion industry is also infamously known for the amount of resources it wastes and the trash it produces. Here are 10 highly concerning statistics about fast fashion waste.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The health of their family is a top life priority for more than eight in 10 employees - second only to their own personal health, according to research.

Engage Health Group's Work, Health and Wellbeing report, which surveyed 250 UK employees, found 82% ranked the health of their family in their top two life priorities - above financial security and just behind their own health.

Peace of mind', 'having a sense of purpose', and 'love' were the next highest priorities, while hobbies', 'pets',' holidays', and 'social life' rounded out the lowest life priorities.

When it comes to the most important benefits for maintaining their own physical wellbeing, workplace private medical insurance ranked top of the list (32%).

This was followed by dental cover (26%) while a health and wellbeing fund (22%), counselling (17%) and gym membership (17%) also ranked highly.

A health cash plan, GP and prescription services, an employee assistance programme and travel cover rounded out this list.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Family and personal health are top priorities for vast majority of people

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The health of their family is a top life priority for more than eight in 10 employees - second only to their own personal health, according to research.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Part of Kathy Caprino's series "Finding Brave To Build a Happier Life and Career"

Some time ago, I conducted a survey with my communities probing a number of critical life and career questions. Over 1,600 people from around the world responded, and their answers were fascinating to read.

I ask probing questions like these of my clients and course members regularly. But what's so intriguing to me is, first, the chance to obtain a quantitative read on these issues. And second, it's fascinating to see evidence of what is becoming more and more obvious -- that the things - and life elements - that we humans desperately long for today are not only universal and timeless but also have become even more elusive and challenging to sustain, even as we "evolve" and develop in this tech-frenzied, time-crushing way of life.

The key question this survey probed was this:

"If you could say in one word what you want more of in life, what would that be?"

Of all the things people indicated they want more of in both live and work, the following were the 10 most frequently mentioned. Here's my take on what's missing in life and work today, and why we can't get enough of these precious ingredients. (The quotes below are from actual respondents, about what they perceive to be the biggest challenge in the way of what they're longing for):

The #1 mentioned missing element - Happiness - has become so hard to achieve, and even harder to maintain. In my work with over 20,000 professionals around the world over the past 16 years, I've seen that happiness continually escapes them because, first, they don't understand specifically what will make them happy. They have a vague idea, but not a specific, concrete understanding of what "happiness" to them really looks and feels like, and the bar to happiness keeps moving for them. Sadly, they often don't seem to know themselves well at all.

Secondly, I've found that both men and women tend to search outside themselves for happiness - in a job, a partner, a family, a title, a paycheck, a fancy, impressive house. As a result, happiness is constantly out of their control and becomes a perpetual moving target that never stands still long enough for them to grasp. I'm not saying that these things don't bring happiness - of course, they can.

But the kind of happiness we get from attaining outer things - and the sensation and experience of that type of "happiness" - is very different from (and not as satisfying and long-lasting as) cultivating happiness from the inside, about how our lives are being lived, on a daily basis, despite what's happening around us.

The key point is that if everything you're searching for remains outside of you, you'll always be scrambling and chasing.

I've worked with people in a wide array of financial situations, including multi-millionaires, as well as people who earn mid-six figures and also those who struggle to pay their bills and make ends meet and everything in between. Isn't it fascinating that no matter what we earn, we somehow feel we never have enough? I know people with literally millions in their bank accounts, yet they live in a constant fear state around money that they never have a moment's peace.

The key question is: how much money do you really need to bring about the life experiences that will truly fulfill you? And what is your actual relationship with money? Is it based in shame, fear, anger, or resentment?

If you constantly want more money and are chasing it, do you understand the key principles and behaviors required to generate it? For a deep dive into this issue, and to learn about how to build true financial well-being into the heart of your life and work, check out my recent Finding Brave podcast 2-part series with : Catherine Morgan

They want to "feel" free, yet are deeply scared to muster the bravery to do what's necessary to "become" free.

What is necessary to experience freedom? I've seen that it requires making yourself right (not wrong) and stop doubting and shaming yourself in terms of what you truly want versus what we're socialized and conditioned to think we want, and being brave enough to follow what you inherently believe in and value, no matter how challenging that may be.

Freedom requires taking the " finding brave" path every day to make yourself your own highest authority about what you want in your life and work, and that's no easy thing today. Most of us (particularly women) aren't taught or trained on for what we want and believe in, and to go after it with undying passion and commitment. how to stand up powerfully

We long for peace, desperately. Peace from noise, chatter, pressure, responsibilities, crushing stress, and from what others need and want from us. We also want peace from the pain and thumping inside our own heads - the conflicts and strain we inflict on ourselves every minute to be better, stronger, smarter (prettier, thinner, richer, better parents, _______ [you fill in the blank]).

Peace, I've found, doesn't come from being better at anything, or even figuring anything out. Attaining peace is a practice that we need to cultivate and commit to.

Peace will never just fall in our laps - it's too chaotic of a world, and our difficult times today are revealing that our futures will continue to be uncertain and unclear. We have to carve out space within ourselves and in our lives to bring forward the experience of peace, quiet, and calm, then do the work to expand peace as a feeling and experience that we'll commit to daily, regardless of what's around us.

You don't have to figure out everything that's in front of you, to be at peace. You just have to commit to being at peace, and to building daily practices that will support you in that commitment. Then, more clarity, calm, and peace will be able to emerge.

In working with women to build successful, rewarding careers they love, and with people who are rethinking their careers, I've witnessed how the process of leaving jobs or careers that are wrong for us -- and stepping up to our highest potential, honoring our visions for contributing to the world in a meaningful way -- does indeed pave the way for more joy.

I believe (and have lived) that we simply can't feel joy in our lives if the work we do and the work culture we're in pains us on a daily basis. We're simply not able to effectively separate who we are deep down from what we do for a living (and why would we want to?). So when you're stuck in work you hate, with people you don't respect, supporting outcomes that feel wrong to you, you will be closing the door on so much potential joy, even if your personal or family life brings you happiness.

One definition of fulfillment that is powerful is this:

The satisfaction and happiness we experience as a result of pursuing our highest potential, when we're fully engaged in developing our abilities and character and finding new, purposeful ways to be of service in the world."

We simply can't experience fulfillment if we're not living up to what we know is our highest and best potential. Have you ever settled for something much less than you know you want or deserve? It hurts - a lot - right?

But to live up to our highest potential, we have to leave our comfort zones behind, and perhaps even leave behind the definition we've crafted of who we think we are, and the stories we tell ourselves about what we're capable of, so that we can become the person we dream to be. We may also need to leave some people and relationships behind (the ones that don't support you to soar higher and grow because it threatens them).

Fulfillment is possible when you are filling up your cup, honoring your own potential, not forsaking yourself by putting everyone else ahead of you. Fulfillment comes when you take bold actions that say "yes" to the future vision of you, even well before it's "hatched."

We humans tend to see only what's at the tip of our noses. And when we're in situations that are hurtful, demeaning, challenging and worse, we lose confidence and our sense of self. We get rocked. We forget who we are, and what we are capable of, and see (and believe) only the boss in front of us who's yelling or the colleague who's tearing us down (or the next Zoom meeting we feel totally unprepared for).

It's a tough world out there, but there are many ways we can stay true to our gifts and capabilities, and build our confidence. For that, we need support from others who believe in us without fail. We need to build our "tribe" of people who will do anything for us and who believe in us without fail.

And we need to believe in ourselves without fail, question and doubt, despite the evidence around us that says we're not "ready" to be who we want to be.

I think that some of the worst advice many of us have ever received in life falls under the category of "Do the stable, secure thing!" As one who followed the "stable" path for 18 years, and pursued a corporate life that was, in the end, very wrong and painful for me, I know that "stable" can be the kiss of death.

After experiencing a brutal layoff in the days following 9/11, and feeling as if my whole life and career were ripped out from under me, I now know this -

Nothing outside of us is "secure or stable." Only YOU are stable - your spirit, your intelligence, your capabilities, your gifts and talents and what you have to offer others and the world.

And how you choose to react to what comes your way - that's what brings internal stability. These are the only aspects of life that are truly stable and secure in a world that is ever-shifting and changing.

Finally, passion - it seems that everyone talks about wanting to be passionate about their work. And so many people have written about the question, "Should you or should you not hope to find passion in your career?"

Pursuing your deep passions is something that can demand a high price - the price of wrapping your entire entity around a certain direction (including risking your checkbook, your relationships, even your health) because you feel you can't NOT pursue it.

But what I find most people mean when they say, "I want to feel passionate about my work" is this:

They want to feel alive, not exhausted, beleaguered and demoralized. They want to feel that there's a reason they're on this planet, a reason for the talents and abilities they were given at birth and have cultivated. They want to believe that they're here for a purpose and finding that purpose will give their lives the meaning and the passion they're missing.

Passion can be tapped and uncorked, for sure, but only when you allow yourself to believe that your life and your work mean something more than merely existing for a paycheck, or doing the "secure" thing that, in the end, feels wrong to you.

As we enter into a brand new year, what is the one thing YOU want more of in life and work? And what one tiny step can you take this month to finally start creating it?

To build a happier and more fulfilling life and career, visit KathyCaprino.com , and join Kathy in the Winter session of her new 8-week live coaching and training course , based on her book The Most Powerful You . The Most Powerful You: 7 Bravery-Boosting Paths to Career Bliss

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Top 10 Things People Want More Of In Life and Work But Can't Seem To Get (or Keep)

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Part of Kathy Caprino's series "Finding Brave To Build a Happier Life and Career" Some time ago, I conducted a survey with my communities probing a number of critical life and career questions. Over 1,600 people from around the world responded, and their answers were fascinating to read.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How do we know that there are 'good' and 'bad' behaviours? How do we all agree that holding a door open for someone is considered 'good' and that taking money from your parents' wallets without telling them is 'bad'?

This collective understanding of behaviours is due to socialisation. Socialisation plays a big part in our lives, whether we realise it or not. Let's look at socialisation from a sociological lens.

We will start with a definition of socialisation.

Then we will discuss primary socialisation and secondary socialisation.

It will be followed by an introduction to the factors of socialisation.

We will look at the sociological perspectives on socialisation, including the views of functionalists, Marxists, feminists, interactionists and postmodernists.

Finally, we will consider social control in relation to socialisation.

Definition of socialisation

The process through which an individual adapts to the distinctive norms and valuesof the society in which they live is called socialisation.

Following the above definitions, socialisation is a process thatenables the individual to fit into the ways of society's culture. Society and human beings are intricately intertwined. I ndividuals learn and understand the existing patterns of society and function accordingly.

Socialisation is a ; it prepares individuals to meet social expectations at every stage of their lives.

To socialise someone, therefore, is to help someone adapt to society's norms or to the surrounding environment.

An example of this is socialising a prisoner into the world after they have served a lengthy sentence.

Examples of socialisation

There are different types of socialisation. The two basic types of socialisation are primary socialisation and secondary socialisation. We will go through these in turn and by the end, you should be able to understand the difference between the two.

Primary socialisation

Primary socialisation takes place during the early childhood years, when the infant learns basic skills (language and cognitive) and values from its primary relationships.

Primary relationships are intimate relationships shared between the individual and their immediate caregivers, such as parents or guardians. They are the ones to initiate the process of socialisation.

Secondary socialisation

The process of secondary socialisation takes place within a small group of people or communities (beyond the family) that are part of society.

Educational (school, college, university), official (workplace) and formal (government) institutions, religion, as well as mass media can be identified as

Socialisation at this stage goes beyond primary relationships. This might include an experience of interacting with people from different cultures at the workplace, or even dealing with a salesperson at a shop.

Factors of socialisation

Gradually, individuals form relationships by developing attachments with people from other aspects of their lif These other aspects are referred to as agencies of socialisation, and they play an important part in shaping one's personality from birth until adulthood.

The six agencies of socialisation are family, peer groups, mass media, religion, education and the workplace. We will go through each in turn.

Family plays a crucial role besides contributing to socialisation. It serves as a natural channel between society and individuals. Parents ( ) use their values to teach children things like how to behave with family, friends, or strangers, and what type of behaviour is considered to be right or wrong. Before other agencies are involved, the family sets a foundation for the individual's behaviour and personality.

We do not lie or steal because we are taught from a young age that it is 'bad' behaviour. We are also taught positive behaviours, such as helping others and sharing.

The growing child shares certain characteristics in their peer group such as gender, age, etc. As one shares a common stage of socialisation with their contemporaries (at school or in a playground), they view the world with shared attitudes and often withdraw from the family environment to get accepted by the peer group. With time, the peer group surpasses parental influence.

The mass media of communication is an instrument of that influences the personality of the individual. It transmits the popular norms, values and opinions to the individual, encouraging them to support, oppose or change them. Television, radio, internet, etc can be categorised as the of socialisation here.

Children may be tempted to buy certain toys/clothes/music if they are told it is a 'must-have' or a popular item. This may encourage children to identify with certain groups or subcultures.

Religious organisations are popular agents of socialisation. Religion instils the idea of 'heaven and hell' in the individual so that they refrain from activities that are against religious beliefs, values and behaviour.

If a child frequently visits religious institutions and is taught that dressing, speaking or acting in a certain way will reflect negatively on them according to God, they are likely to hold those values close to them throughout their life.

The process takes place within the formalised agencies of education such as schools, colleges and universities. One does not just learn a language and interdisciplinary subjects but also acquires values of achievement, solidarity and civic ideals.

Educational institutions also instil the concept of time management, punctuality, group activities and competition. It is an important socialiser that stands right next to the family for the socialisation process of a growing child.

In the workplace, the individual adapts to their colleagues and environment to be accepted. One tries to make adjustments with others and in return learns cooperation, specialisation of tasks and the nature of

In this process, the individual acquires not only a source of income, but also a sense of identity and status in society. The individual learns about social rules and conforms to workplace norms.

By working in a large office with several team members, an individual learns how to work well with others (cooperation), how to break down tasks into smaller activities (specialisation of tasks), and how the workplace hierarchy is structured (class division).

Sociological perspectives of socialisation

We'll now consider (in more detail) some sociological perspectives of socialisation. How do sociologists view the process of socialisation?

Functionalist perspective of socialisation

Talcott Parsons' works strongly emphasise the importance of the family's role in socialisation to attain social stability. He pointed out two irreducible functions of the family: primary socialisation and stabilisation of adult personalities.

Primary socialisation specifically teaches children the norms and values that the family or local community hold. The stabilisation of adult personalities refers to how families help adults to continue to conform to society's norms and values.

Its goal is to keep them out of deviant or anti-social behaviours, particularly when they are stressed. The family provides emotional support for its members to keep them out of 'trouble'.

Through these functions, primary socialisation helps children to adapt to society's norms and values.

Norms are enforced expectations within society which help us maintain accepted behaviours. For example, being raised with the notion that honesty is right is a common norm in most societies.

Values are beliefs that society as a whole generally endorse as positive or worthwhile. For example, the value of human equality is believed in most societies.

Functionalist view on agencies of socialisation

Agencies of secondary socialisation further teach children how to become functioning adults that respect social norms and values. For example:

Education: children are taught values such as respect for hierarchy and discipline.

Religion: children are given moral norms and values that, when respected, help to bind society together.

Workplace: children turn into adults that understand their roles and functions in society. They work and help to keep society stable.

Émile Durkheim explored the idea of collective conscience. This is in reference to the shared norms and values of our society; it's what we are collectively socialised to believe. Religion often perpetuates collective conscience.

Primary and secondary socialisation is crucial, therefore, to create well-functioning and stable adults.

Socialisation makes individuals understand their Marx believed that our socialisation into society aided the bourgeoisie by keeping us in our proletariat roles. Learning the norms and values of our class from a young age ensures we remain in this role. status in society.

A status is defined by our social position in society. In a capitalist society, our status is defined by our socioeconomic position; namely, by factors such as our job and wealth.

Eli Zaretsky saw the family as a tool for capitalism. The family socialises its children to obey society and consequently the commands of the bourgeoisie. From a young age, we become aware of our place in society because the family, as a primary agent of socialisation, teaches us that this is how society works.

By learning this status at such a young age, we are far less likely to challenge it later in life. Therefore, during the process of secondary socialisation, the agencies of socialisation further perpetuate capitalist ideology. For example:

Education: children are prepared for the workforce, such as by being disciplined into punctuality, hierarchy and obedience.

Religion: religion tells the proletariat that the division in society is natural and therefore should be accepted.

Workplace: we are defined by our roles and productivity.

Primary and secondary socialisation upholds capitalist ideology. As Marxists yearn for an uprising from the proletariat to overthrow the bourgeoisie, our socialisation of class halts this from occurring.

Ann Oakley explored how unconscious stereotypes were taught through socialisation and ensured that we obeyed societal gender roles.

Feminist view on agencies of socialisation

Oakley found that the family, a primary agent of socialisation, socialised children in 3 main ways:

Parents are likely to unconsciously push perceived gender roles onto their children. For example, they may believe that their son will be better at sport than their daughter and spend more time with him on this.

Oakley determined that parents were most likely to punish their children depending on their own personal norms and values. As parents have already been socialised to understand gender roles, they are likely to reinforce them in their children. For example, if their son picks out a typically feminine toy, he may be teased or told off.

Children are often encouraged to strive to achieve similarity to a parent of the same sex. For example, if girls are encouraged to look up to the maternal figure in their life, they are more likely to recreate domestic tasks that women are too often forced into.

Feminism and secondary socialisation

During the process of secondary socialisation, these gender roles are further entrenched. For example:

Education: girls may be discouraged from STEM subjects as they are seen as too 'masculine'.

Religion: girls and boys are taught that hierarchy is God-given, which means girls may accept subordinate positions.

Workplace: women may be discouraged from applying to senior or managerial roles due to the perception of them as not being 'feminine'.

George Herbert Mead explored the idea of how our personality develops from socialisation. The main parts that he determined of ones 'self' are our self-awareness and self-image.

These aspects all come together to determine our behaviours and consciousness. Mead argued that this was not something we were born with, but that we are socialised to develop.

Interactionist view on agencies of socialisation

Erving Goffman explored his idea of dramaturgy. This concept suggested that everybody in our society can be seen as an actor in a role and that society is our stage to play on.

A role refers to the expected behaviours associated with our social status. For example, the King of England has a very specific role which requires many actions.

During the process of socialisation, we are taught exactly how to play our roles. We have assigned roles from birth, e.g. female, working-class, heterosexual, and the norms and values we are socialised into teaching us how to appropriately act as this character.

Furthering this, he explored the ideas of front and backstages.

The front stage represents all parts of society where we must interact and 'act' in front of other members. This is most of what we experience in society.

But backstage is when are experience moments of privacy with ourselves, at which point we can let our act slip before preparing to enter the front stage again.

Jean-François Lyotard explored the concept of a metanarrative. He described this as an overarching idea that is believed to be 'universally true'.

It can be a difficult term to get your head around, so it's good to explore an example.

A well-known example of a metanarrative is the concept of the human evolutionary process. This is something which the majority of society accepts as true, without necessarily questioning its origins.

In sociology, the theories of functionalism, Marxism and feminism are also considered to be metanarratives as they all make big claims about society and its members.

Metanarratives can often be related to religious or scientific ideas, as these are mostly treated as 'universally true' in society. They are rarely questioned by the collective conscience of society because we are socialised to believe them from a young age. They are often the cornerstone of our deep beliefs about life.

The process of socialisation involves to create order, stability and predictability in the behaviour of its members. It is through this process that society maintains its culture and passes it further from generation to generation.

Society uses (such as the agencies of social control to make people conform to societal expectations. Not all agree with or follow the rules according to the expectations of the society; in this case, formal agents of social control criminal justice system) use to control behaviour.

Sanctions are divided into two categories; reward (positive sanction) and (negative sanction). These exist to control 'unacceptable' behaviour (what sociologists call

Formal and informal agencies of social control

Prime examples of formal agencies of social control are the police, government and military authorities. The rules of behaviour are based upon formal, legal norms enforced by relevant institutions (university, workplace, courts).

Family, media, peer groups and religion can be identified as agencies of social control. Though the rules of behaviour differ vastly from society to society, it usually involves disapproving looks, sarcasm, scolding and reward and punishment.

Socialisation as a lifetime process

As society moves forward, societal challenges and expectations continue to present themselves. Due to this, adults engage in anticipatory socialisation, which is a self-directed process that involves preparing for future life roles. One can engage in this process while entering a new phase of life such as a new position/job, parenthood or old age (planning for retirement).

When an individual unlearns behaviour that has become customary to them, they enter the process of resocialisation. This process can take place when a person moves to a facility centre or institution like a prison. In this process, people are isolated from society and are expected to conform to new rules (of the institution).

.

Socialisation - Key takeaways

Socialisation is a lifelong process; it prepares the individual (from birth, through adolescence and continues throughout life) to meet social expectations at every stage of their lives.

The two major forms of socialisation are primary and secondary socialisation.

The six agencies of socialisation are the family, peer groups, mass media, religion, education and the workplace.

Sociological perspectives of socialisation include the functionalist, Marxist, feminist, interactionist and postmodernist perspectives.

There are formal and informal agencies of socialisation.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Socialisation: ✓ Primary ✓ Secondary ✓ Definition ✓ Factors ✓ Sociology ✓ Perspectives ✓ Examples ✓ StudySmarter Original

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Yoko Ono is a trailblazer of early conceptual and participatory art, film and performance, a celebrated musician, and a formidable campaigner for world peace. Developing her practice in the United States, Japan and the UK, ideas are central to her art, often expressed in poetic, humorous, profound and radical ways.

Spanning more than seven decades, YOKO ONO: MUSIC OF THE MIND is the UK's largest exhibition celebrating key moments in Ono's groundbreaking, influential and multidisciplinary career, from the mid-1950s to now - including her years in London where she met her future husband and longtime collaborator John Lennon.

The show traces the development of her practice and explores some of Ono's most talked about and powerful artworks and performances. This includes Cut Piece (1964), where people were invited to cut off her clothing, to her banned Film No.4 (Bottoms) (1966-67) which she created as a 'petition for peace'. Visitors are invited to take part in both simple acts of the imagination and active encounters with Ono's works, such as Wish Trees for London, where visitors can contribute personal wishes for peace.

Audiences will discover over 200 works including instruction pieces, scores, installations, films, music and photography. The exhibition reveals a groundbreaking approach to language, art and participation that continues to speak to the present moment.
Supported by John J. Studzinski CBE The exhibition is organised by Tate Modern, London in collaboration with Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
See the UK's largest exhibition celebrating the ground-breaking and influential work of artist and activist Yoko Ono

# data[].attributes.body
the exhibition is exploring consumerism power and gender while constantly pushing us to re think and re consider our perspectives and how we see the world around us.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
American artist Barbara Kruger (b. 1945, Newark, New Jersey, USA) is widely known for her impactful work with images and words. Drawing from an early career as a graphic designer for magazines, Kruger developed an iconic visual language that frequently borrows from the techniques and aesthetics of advertising and other media. Since the 1970s, her artworks have continually explored complex mechanisms of power, gender, class, consumerism, and capital.
at Serpentine South is Kruger's first solo institutional show in London in over twenty years. It features a unique selection of installations alongside moving image works and multiple soundscapes. The exhibition is the UK premiere of  Untitled (No Comment) (2020). This immersive three-channel video installation explores contemporary modes of creating and consuming content online. In the work, Kruger combines text, audio clips, and a barrage of found images and memes, ranging from blurred-out selfies to animated photos of cats.

The exhibition also features recent video reconfigurations - or, as the artist calls them, - of several of Kruger's most iconic pieces from the 1980s, including Untitled (I shop therefore I am) (1987) and Untitled (Your body is a battleground) (1989). Over decades, Kruger has presented her work across various spaces and forms, including on buildings, billboards, hoardings, buses, and skate parks. For this exhibition, the artist has adapted works , which were recently presented at museums in the United States, to specific locations within Serpentine, both indoors and outdoors .

Please be advised, this exhibition contains works with strong language, nudity, flashing images and sudden loud noises. For more information, please contact information@serpentinegalleries.org.

A special Limited Edition has been released on the occasion of the exhibition Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You. at Serpentine. Discover the edition and further information here.

Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You. at Serpentine is curated by the artist in close collaboration with Natalia Grabowska, Curator at Large, Architecture and Site-specific Projects.

Produced by:

Brittany Stewart, Creative Producer

Mike Gaughan, Gallery Manager

Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You. is an adaptation of the exhibition organised by the Art Institute of Chicago, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, and The Museum of Modern Art, New York.

Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You. was on view at the Art Institute of Chicago from September 19, 2021 to January 24, 2022, and was co-organised by James Rondeau, President and Eloise W. Martin Director, and Robyn Farrell, Senior Curator at the Kitchen and former Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art. At LACMA, the exhibition was presented March 20, 2022 to July 17, 2022 and was organised by Michael Govan, CEO and Wallis Annenberg Director, and Rebecca Morse, Curator, Wallis Annenberg Photography Department. The installation at The Museum of Modern Art, New York, was on view from July 18, 2022 to January 2, 2023 and was organised by Peter Eleey, former Chief Curator, MoMA PS1, and Lanka Tattersall, Laurenz Foundation Curator, Department of Drawings and Prints.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Barbara Kruger: Thinking of You. I Mean Me. I Mean You. - Serpentine Galleries

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The artist's first solo exhibition in London in 20 years, featuring a unique selection of installations alongside moving image works and multiple soundscapes.

# data[].attributes.body
Whitechapel Gallery

# data[].attributes.headline
Are most people contempt in their lives? 

# data[].attributes.subject
Are most people contempt in their lives? 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Using textiles, fibre and thread, 50 international artists challenge power structures and reimagine the world in this major group exhibition.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
how a place changes over time. looking into generations vastly change on from one another 

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Energy: Sparks from the Collection - Display at V&A South Kensington · V&A

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
This display shines a light on the kinds of energy in photography - the hidden processes intrinsic to creating a picture and the subjects in front of the camera

# data[].attributes.headline
How much is bought new? do people buy second hand now/ 

# data[].attributes.subject
How much is bought new? do people buy second hand now/ 

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
individuals being glued to their phones- consumerism always wanting more.

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
needing a protective skin- feeling lost without goals and aspirations 

# data[].attributes.body
Throughout my FMP I want to explore what humans desire and why we fantasise about our lives so much. Can a strong desire for something change the ways in which we behave and present ourselves, consuming our thoughts and the decisions we make. Is this due to our norms, values and beliefs, that have been thought and projected onto us through socialization at a young age. Socialization can control an individual’s personality, behaviours and social interactions which are big factors of what makes someone who they are. Variables such as personality traits, level of awareness, decision making skills and behavioural patterns define the outcomes of our life and what our destiny is. I intend to investigate how much our experiences and circumstances, we have been born into shapes who we are. For example, how much money your family has, if you had access to private education or education at all and how different cultures values different goals as more important.  I want to explore ideas around humans being contempt with in their lives, are people ever satisfied? Why in this society do we always want more, such as the new best car, a second home, the latest phone ect.. It is interesting to discover and investigate the changes in our society over time. In 1919 peoples ambitions were along the lines of charity, faith and honour. Picking and learning a trade used to be the norm within society, this gave individuals purpose and belonging making it much harder to feel lost with in your life. I want to look into this topic as I think its interesting to see how society evolves overtime. I think that it will connect with a large audience as it relates and involves all people in society today. This topic is interesting to look into as it involves exploring different cultures, finding out what is seen as a priority with in them and how this changes the ways in which they live their lives.

# data[].attributes.headline
Does social media influence what you buy?

# data[].attributes.subject
Does social media influence what you buy?

# data[].attributes.headline
What are the differences in how people interact in person and online?

# data[].attributes.subject
What are the differences in how people interact in person and online?

# data[].attributes.headline
Does socialisation have a major impact on who you become?

# data[].attributes.subject
Does socialisation have a major impact on who you become?

# data[].attributes.headline
What do people work for? holidays, nice home

# data[].attributes.subject
What do people work for? holidays, nice home

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
It's not what it seems: Unraveling the secrets of Analia Saban's 'Threadbare'

# data[].attributes.headline
do we seek happinesss through a irrational amount of products?

# data[].attributes.subject
do we seek happinesss through a irrational amount of products?

# data[].attributes.headline
Do we need purpose to have a fulfilled life? 

# data[].attributes.subject
Do we need purpose to have a fulfilled life? 

# data[].attributes.attachment_caption
materialism- always wanting the next best thing, consumerism 

# data[].attributes.headline
Does social media change our aspirations in life? 

# data[].attributes.subject
Does social media change our aspirations in life? 

# data[].attributes.headline
How has as consumerism changed our society? 

# data[].attributes.subject
How has as consumerism changed our society? 

# data[].attributes.headline
Why do people not pick a trade anymore, is this a good thing? 

# data[].attributes.subject
Why do people not pick a trade anymore, is this a good thing? 

# data[].attributes.body
does social media influence people to buy

see the people wearing clothes

difference between what you receive and what an influencer gets- catfish

constant flow of what is new

instagram shopping channels makes it so easy to buy quickly

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Do Social Media Influencers actually affect consumers?

# data[].attributes.body
Through the duration of my final major project I want to investigate and explore human desire. To ensure I get the most rounded, accurate and large amount of data and research I will carry out a range of research methods.

First I will carry out in depth research using the internet as well as books such as the promise of happiness by Sarah Ahmud. This will give me a broad amount of knowledge and understanding on my topic, as well as allowing me to focus in on what I really want to investigate fully.

I want to create surveys with questions about individuals goals, aspirations and desires they want to achieve and fulfil with in their lives. An example of this would be In the next three years what are your main focuses, health? Family? Travel? Hobbies? Education?.  By doing this and not only asking my generation but older as well I will gain a clear understanding of how people’s goals have adapted over time. As well as collecting this data I will look into the stats of what answers to questions much like these would be in previous years. By doing this I will be able to compare the differences in how satisfied individuals feel with their lives.

Through this project I also want to conduct interviews with an array of people to see how much they think their socialisation shaped and moulded the person they are today. I.e. their major role models they had/ have. Their parent’s expectations of them and family life (gender, punishment) How they have changed over time due to age. I want to see how this helped determine what they value and want with their lives.

I chose to explore this topic as I find studying our society and human interaction and development very interesting. I think that this topic will allow me to stretch myself in the ways I investigate and research a subject matter and how this will help me translate knowledge into an artwork.

# data[].attributes.body
expressionism.

The expressionist art movement focuses on projecting an emotional response within the viewer. Rather than focusing on the reality of a scene, the artist uses colour, shape, brush strokes and other artistic tools to arouse a specific response in anyone who may be objectifying the work.

# data[].attributes.headline
Do experiences and circumstance shape who you are?

# data[].attributes.subject
Do experiences and circumstance shape who you are?

# data[].attributes.body
Douglas Gordon: ‘All I need is a little bit of everything’

Gangonsin Gallery

# data[].attributes.body
generation of consumers seek happiness and self realisation through the irrational number of products

humans need an additional reason to live

subjected to natural laws

reason to build our ow lives

seek the ultimate purpose for existing

with the absence of purpose humans can feel lost

1919

prosper

obey

duty

charity

faith

honour

2020

holidays

nice house

second home

new phone

Ferrari

good job

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The current generation of customers seek happiness and self-realization through the possession of an irrational number of products. In this article we will analyze the cultural background of consumerism and we will try to redefine the concept of self-realization as a life-long inner drive that shapes the projects of individual existence.

Humans are not like other animals.
With the exception of Homo sapiens, every species on Earth, in order to be fine, simply has to satisfy their natural needs. These creatures do not need any additional reason to live. Their life is uniquely subjected to natural laws, with no exceptions.

For us humans it's different. We need a reason to build our own life. We seek an ultimate purpose for our existence. It is not sufficient to just be alive: in the absence of a motive to pursue happiness, human life can be a burden and people can feel completely lost.
Luckily, being physically and mentally healthy, we should also feel an inner driving force that constantly pushes us towards the completion of our living projects: I would call this intimate motivation "desire of self-realization ".

However, nowadays is this intimate drive still solid? Do we even consider our existence in terms of self-realization?

The apparent loss of human desire as a guiding path for a satisfied life results from a combination of different anthropological aspects. We will now focus on the impact of rampant consumerism, whose influence has become extremely pervasive over the last decades, especially throughout the western countries.

The rise of consumerism in the context of the third industrial revolution
Consumerism is commonly defined as " the belief that it is desirable to buy and use a lot of goods". Let us now try to dissect the meaning of such a notion.
First of all, the term " belief" immediately pictures consumerism as dogmatism. Becoming consumerists, we are blindly persuaded that our new status is indubitable. Our consumerist actions are therefore guided by a conviction very similar to a profound creed. In other words, we accept it without feeling the need to question it.
Then, the adjective " desirable " makes this definition even more dangerous. When something is desirable, the only limiting factor that can prevent us from its ownership is indeed its existence. In industrial terms, when the product is ready, there are no reasons why we should prevent ourselves from taking it.

Perhaps, we should ask: nowadays, is there any limit to production? That is questionable. For instance, if we were going to the grocery store ten times a day, each time we could easily fill up our bags entirely with the same type and number of products. Therefore, the offer irrationally exceeds genuine demand.
At this point, we must realize a paradox: in principle, an unlimited production of goods would make sense only in response to an unlimited demand. However, genuine needs are easily satisfied by small amounts of goods.

Thus, how can this industrial production be maintained as a perpetual machinery?
As nicely pointed out by philosopher Günther Anders (1), it is necessary to create infinite demand in order to maintain a constant production rate. We use the verb " to create" on purpose. In fact, infinite demand can only be dependent on induced needs, not on genuine ones.
In the current era, it is not the consumer who is famished of goods, but it is the products that are famished of being consumed.

Now, this creation of needs is the bread and butter of publicity.
Indeed, publicity is the main character of the third industrial revolution. It grows and prospers by the induction of customers' needs, and customers in return constantly buy products, sustaining the eternal loop. Publicity favors the production of an indefinite number of products - but at the same time - it requires also an indefinite variety of the same product.
For instance: the customers want toothpaste. The request is simple: they desire to brush their teeth. In an ideal world, the customers would go to the grocery store, they would find a couple of different toothpastes, make their choice and satisfy their request. In the current world, the customers might have to scrutinize dozens of toothpaste brands, and they would eventually end up buying more than one.

We experience a phenomenon of a potentially infinite multiplication of products, which constantly clogs customers' lives with an excess of "things".
We should keep in mind this anthropological aspect, because it is relevant when we discuss the relationship between consumerism and the aforementioned human desire of self-realization.
Cultural roots of consumerism and its spread in Italy in the second half of the 20th century
Where does the consumerist belief come from?
Let us now take the Italian background as an historical example. From such a specific reality we will then make some general considerations.

After the Second World War and Mussolini's fall, the Italian intellectual Pier Paolo Pasolini pictured consumerism as one of the main causes of the homogenization of Italian culture. Pasolini blamed two major phenomena: the infrastructural revolution, that bridged together "peripheral" realities and "central" realities; the rise of television as the most common and popular media. Combined, those events caused a centralization of culture, disrupting dialects and peripheral identities, and tacitly imposing a common communicative language ( 2). Using standardized formulas like slogans, television could educate via the new dogma of consumerism.
Pasolini defined this new-born regime as " new Fascism": while the original Fascism was based on repressive moralism, formal respectability and a militaristic education, this new concept of Fascism is grounded on the ideology of tolerance. What follows can be considered its manifesto: "Citizens (= customers) are free to do (= to buy) whatever they want, because whatever they want is whatever I (the system) want them to do (= to buy)."
The transition from a totalitarian perspective to a tolerant one had been already predicted by the English intellectual and writer Aldous Huxley in his dystopian novel Brave new world, published in 1932. Instead of imagining a Big Brother that perpetually watches us (3) - as Huxley's alumnus, the more famous George Orwell, will propose sixteen years later in his 1984 - Huxley presents us a world in which citizens are educated to fully believe in what they are becoming (4). Instead of establishing a regime of fear to limit people's freedom, tolerance is an easier way to arbitrarily restrict the fancies of freedom and let people obediently play inside them.
However, with the advent of the totalitarianisms George Orwell's conception built its fame, which is still pretty popular in western countries, although historically quite outdated, the aforementioned shift from a repressive system to a tolerant one happened to be swept under the carpet. Now that we live in an era in which every aspect of reality is previously filtered and presented to us, it is becoming difficult to identify any symptoms (Read the article " Why all news carries a dose of fakeness " to get more insight on the matter).

In the next chapter we will analyze the most evident symptom of consumerism and its impact on human perception of happiness.
The paradox of desiring an infinite number of "things"
In the first chapter we have already clarified that those needs, which are relied on by the publicity and the entire industrial system, are not genuine. However, when we claim that they are not genuine, we do not mean they are implanted into our minds as pure artefacts. These induced needs must be grounded into our desire of self-realization. Therefore, publicity often tries to sell "things" or "experiences" as if they were the only way to attain happiness. Given that what is sold are mainly concrete objects or corporal sensations, we should also affirm that publicity aims to satisfy physical pleasure through human senses.

What does it mean?

Individuals are persuaded that physical satisfaction is all that is required to be happy. The perverse possession of objects is upgraded to the status of supreme law. Therefore, they tend to buy multitudes of things to reach self-realization.
The issue arises when customers realize that material objects cannot fulfil their existence. This is the first intellectual crossroad customers have to face: either they realize that material objects can never completely satisfy their desire, or they convince themselves that they will find happiness in the next product.

This is the consumerist paradigm: "I seek self-realization in the things the system offers me. But anytime I obtain a new product I do not feel satisfied and my desire is frustrated. Thus, I convince myself that I will find happiness in the next object."

On this line, the process reiterates itself eternally until biological death.

But why is the desire frustrated once it meets the product?
Because the vitality of desire is based on the existence of absence. Therefore, the consumerist's disease is characterized by the belief that satisfaction comes from a definitive filling of a pre-constituted intimate void.

However, what if we could picture desire as a driving force that is continuously triggered by a genuine lack of a definitive satisfaction? In this new light, the process of self-realization becomes a dynamic and life-long movement that reinvents itself, without the need of seeking final completion.
How should we change our behavior as customers?
We should start by reducing the number of things we own, just buy whatever we really feel the need to use or to consume. Thanks to this simple action, we will start again to experience a status of emptiness, which is a good symptom. Then, a sensation of thrilling absence will follow, capable of motivating us. As already said, the resurrection of our desire acts as a dynamic drive that pushes us forward and does not seek a finite completion.
After a while, this will become our enthusiastic approach to daily life.

To conclude with an exclamation captured in a popular interview with the Italian teacher and writer Alessandro d'Avenia: "[Talking about school education] I would say: less objects and more projects."
Simone Redaelli
References:

1. Anders, G., "The Outdatedness of Human Beings 2. On the Destruction of Life in the Era of the Third Industrial Revolution.", 1979.

2. Pasolini, P.P., "Scritti corsari", 1975 (Available in Italian only).

3. Orwell, G., "1984", 1949.

4. Huxley, A., "Brave New World", 1932.

Received: 02.04.19, Ready: 09.04.19, Editors: CV, RG.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Loss of Desire in the Era of Consumerism

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The current generation of customers seek happiness and self-realization through the possession of an irrational number of products. In this article we will analyze the cultural background of consumerism and we will try to redefine the concept of self-realization as a life-long inner drive that shapes the projects of individual existence.

# data[].attributes.body
Duane Hanson

Man on a bench

realistic sculptures

postures and emotion- along audience feel something

# data[].attributes.body
Marina Abramovic to walk the Great Wall

# data[].attributes.body
socialisation theory

variety of people

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Jordan Peterson - Why Humans Aren't Designed To Be Happy

# data[].attributes.body
Sophie Calle

Take Care of Yourself

April 9 – June 6, 2009

534 W 21st Street

# data[].attributes.body
Self determination theory

Ryan & Deci Zoo

# data[].attributes.body
Zineb Sedira: ‘Dreams Have No Titles’

Whitechapel Gallery