2 piece Kimono with original African design printed on cotton and topped with Organza

On a wooden stand to appear as if floating.

Height: 120cms approx.

– Deanna’s thoughts –

The current pandemic could well be seen as a result of man’s reckless folly and abuse of planet Earth. The kimono is a response to the perceived origins of the virus which ultimately reflects on Man’s exploitation of the natural world.

The Gaia Hypothesis itself “posits that Earth and its biological systems behave as a huge single entity. This entity has closely controlled self-regulating negative feedback loops that keep the conditions on the planet within boundaries that are favourable to life biodiversity.”

The pattern on the kimono is designed to resemble African wax cloth in style and was inspired by the colours and shapes of computerised corona virus visuals. It illustrates both the structure of the covid virus itself with its pattern of exploding spikes alternating with diagrams of the exponential growth of the spread of infection.

The design was painted in watercolours on paper and then printed onto cotton poplin. Parts of the fabric were then quilted and made up in to a kimono, ‘a thing to wear’. The sleeves are lined with an African wax cloth fabric with a design that resembles covid spikes.

The top layer is of silk organza. Symbolic figures of Gaia worked in stitch and fine transparencies dance across that surface.