WOW Award winner - 2008

'Grim Furry Tales' - My journey for Artistic Excellence

When I was recalling a personal event that occurred in 2007, I did so easily because I was surrounded by various stimulant that evoked memories of the event. The event I mention is the Montana Wearable Art Awards held in Wellington, New Zealand every September. I have become over the years, a designer contestant entering artistic garments that represent an artistic form, and are brought to life on the performance stage. The evidence that I am apart of this artistic culture is displayed around my home by way of costume replicas, entry badges and garment workbooks. The memory stimuli reflect the good feelings of accomplishment and success that were felt that 2007 awards night, and the restoration of artistic achievement verifying a level of excellence required to achieve success in the competition.



The memory I hold of this event that occurred three years ago, has personal nostalgia combined with a prosthetic memory. The personal memories I hold of this achievement are the private input of ability, time and family involvement. The social historical memory is mediated in the version produced by the World of Wearable Arts company for TV One, to promote their product and present the best spectacle from the live Awards night to sell to and seduce their television audience. In the construction of the short film which retells of my journey in 2007, I have utilized the personal and prosthetic memory to work together to mediate a greater authenticity of my experience. I too felt what was conveyed in the televised version, and much more because I was physically present; I live it.



The short film "Grim Furry Tales - My journey of artistic Excellence" tells of a nostalgia for a past,  not a lost past, but a moment in my life that was successful and inspiring. Incorporating the TV footage acts as a social memory, and offers the spectacle and grandeur of a public event that I could not recreate as it occurred. The mediated footage from that night, provides a professional collaboration of technical construction in the editing, and an intensified distortion of the ‘real’ experience; this creates an inviting passage of exceptional feeling. The way the garments on the catwalk are framed up-close, the lighting, camera angles and speeds are a stark contrast  to the footage I took in a domestic setting of my home. This amateur footage is complemented with stills taken during construction and on the Awards night.  These various media provide a context to place my memory of experience within, although what is presented is an edited version of the total experience of which I can only recall fragments of.



The aesthetic style of my recollection of the events surrounding my experience is one of showing the details of time and effort behind the finished product. The public is presented with a complete garment of excellence, but my back story is presented in a 'flashback' construction as I sit at home recalling the event as I remember it three years on.  Showing the creation of the garment  details personal struggle and innovative techniques  not covered or dealt with in the show that is presented to the public. The clips from the TV show that I intersperse with my personal story create a point of nostalgia to regain the excitement and beauty of the spectacle that is the end product; the sellable experience. This is achieved through the visual representation of the event; the saturation and luminous use of colour, the flow of choreography inducing emotion of beauty and passion along with music which inspires magical and an outer world experience.



Providing the contrast of detail to justify my memory of this important event in my life, was important to me. The collaboration of various media, video, and stills with the audio in dialogue, diagetic and background music creates a time capsule of indulgent escape. This is to be immersed in much like a cinematic experience, where time and movement involve the audience as apart of the experience.  I have tried to mimic the emotional reward of entering the competition and the involvement in a high culture event that delivers a spectacular product from a process of intense creation. I have in doing so achieved a recount of a moment in my life that stands as a legacy for my family and friends, about my journey in producing artistic excellence.