Edinburgh Napier University

  With Robertson, I initiated, developed and led, Lit Lace for Performance, a culmination of cross-disciplinary collaborative work which explored the development of responsive smart textile backdrops for new display, projection and visual effects for the theatre industry. It was supported by a €50,000 EU WEAR Sustain award and named by wearable.com as one of five most interesting Wear Sustain open call 2 projects (accessed July 2018).

In response to an EU call for sustainable and ethically-focussed Wearables and Smart Textile projects and the need to find sustainable options and alternative solutions for stage and set design, the vision for the research was to explore the inherent, programmable potential of newly developed Light-emitting Lace (2016-2018) for stage, set design and performance. The research aimed to develop ideas for a flexible lighting and fabric design system and build infrastructure for MYB Textiles by supporting local textile industry to sustain long term market growth.

Through the collective dynamic of smart textiles, stage and set design, choreography, lighting and performance industry specialists, the project creatively questioned how the use of innovative lighting within and on cloth could best exploit the use of Lit Lace as responsive backdrops within a controlled environment. Through the practical testing of lighting technology and performance intervention, the project has found ways to creatively exploit multiple cloth effects and provide potential options for artistic interpretation. The natural characteristics of the cloth and incidental markings through fabric wear and tear also provide exciting visual alternatives and the potential for reuse as a business model.

Project results were dissemination at WEAR Sustain’s Final Event and Symposium at BOZAR, Brussels and ICT, Vienna 2018. Further research work has been funded by the EU WORTH Partnership (April 2019) to develop a user-friendly, smart interface hub to allow synchronised lighting control within a stage environment.