SymbioticA

WhiteFeather

FURTHER INFORMATION

Country of origin

Canada

Website:

whitefeatherhunter.com

WhiteFeather

Biography

WhiteFeather is a Canadian artist/researcher, educator, consultant and writer based in Montreal. The majority of her work deals with ideas around physicality and ephemerality, affectation and instinct, where cloth can stand in for skin and/or bodily matter can become material for making. She is a multiple-award and grant recipient, for her sculptural fibre-based works constructed from organic, found and mixed media. She has shown and performed work in solo, group and collaborative exhibitions in Canada and the US and has been featured in international magazines, newspapers, hardcover art books and television spotlights. WhiteFeather saw her work go viral in 2012 with 5+ million hits in 3 days, via reddit front page. Also a nationally published feminist poet, WhiteFeather holds a Bachelor of Applied Arts (BAA) degree and a Certificate in Adult Education (C-AEd), both from the University of New Brunswick, as well as a Diploma in Textiles from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design (Dipl). She is currently completing her Master of Fine Arts degree in Fibres and Material Practices as a fellow at Concordia University, Montreal.


Research Project: Crafting Biotextiles


Crafting Biotextiles is a project which aims to explore the application of textile pattern + structural integrity to the construction of organic matrices for use in tissue engineering. Manually fostering cell culture growth on traditional, aesthetic textile forms speaks to the intersection of hands-on wet biology practices with creative craft processes. 3D-printed weaving tools remain as part of the living cultures after practical use, as an integral and conceptual part of the overall laboratory apparatus: a comment on materiality as well as the agency and haptic intelligence of microbiological systems to design themselves in cooperation with intentional/artistic human design.

Funding support:

  • Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) of Canada
  • artsnb (New Brunswick Arts Board, Canada)
  • Concordia University (Canada)
  • Private Donors


Period of research

May - August 2014