Prayer for Roadkill Angels
Prayer for Roadkill Angels
Prayer for Roadkill Angels is a tribute to childhood memories of Wisconsin’s backroads, and a eulogy for the roadkill discarded at the edges. Olive remembers tracking disfigured deer through the car window and feeling the urge to pray, despite having never been religious. This compulsion is what inspired them to explore the relationship between humans and the creatures they share land with. Rather than remembering the animals for their final decaying moments, Prayer asks the audience to imagine a heavenly afterlife for them instead. The designs juxtapose soft fabrics with deteriorating textures and distorted proportions to create pieces that both reveal and conceal. Prayer does not force the viewer to ogle at mangled bodies and devastation, but instead invites them to celebrate the sacred lives lost.
Come see Prayer for Roadkill Angels in person! The collection is on display in the Ruth Davis Design Gallery through May 11, and in PULSE 2.0 by The Issue on May 2.
Moodboard
The Raven Set was created in response to transformable fashion. This set’s special ability lies in its hooks and eyes. Capri pant legs detach into shorts and sleeves that can be connected at the armhole. The flare and double pleat layers create a winglike silhouette when worn in the long sleeve format. Mismatch buttons and malleable parts allude to the process of deterioration in its randomness and fragility.
The Spinal Top’s animalistic qualities speak for themselves. Pleat manipulation was used to craft the 3D spine appliqué, in addition to a wrap-around collar, hook and eye closures and hardware abound.
The Disconnected Tutu is an exercise in juxtaposition. The organic gathers and texture of the skirt represent the body of the animal, while the harsh leather and horse bit channel harmful manmade images.
The skirt is constructed from organza and secondhand tulle, dyed by hand as pictured in the process below. The leather and horse bit are also secondhand.
While The Midi is precious on first glance, further inspection allows the viewer to see disjointed limbs in the cutouts that reveal soft flesh and gaps where there shouldn’t be. A doe with no tire marks, but a chest that’s been ripped open nonetheless.
The Cowl echoes the cutouts and highlights the body in a similar way to the Midi, however it interprets those shapes more organically. The most fur-like fabric in the collection, the fabric drapes off the form to both reveal and conceal the delicate structures of the body.
Illustrations
Knitwear
The Basque is a cardigan knit on flatbed knitting machines. The body is an open knit of mohair and silk, while the lace is hand manipulated without a lace carriage. The waist echoes the organic shaping of the cowl necks and piecing together of the spinal top. This is the softest, fleshiest piece in the collection. The sampling process is included below.
