hannah 
zbitnew





photos: Lisette Dunin-Markiewicz




In the absence of tactile immersion during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, what do we look for to satisfy a need for touch?

Distractions abound, attention, stretched thin. The main way to experience craft in real time has been through databases, online galleries, and ever-updating Instagram feeds. We experience time, material, and texture differently online; the cool glass of the computer screen is the only place where the hand rests. 

Spurred on by an early pandemic discussion with a friend about the fashion illustration of Erte, I started to think about how we relate to material when we're not allowed to touch it. 

Erte excelled at the depiction of rich, sumptuous materials, long lines, knits that cascade over debutante forms. What would it mean to replicate the forms and shapes of his illustration (shown here) using deadstock materials I had, only still images for reference, weaving as much as I could between lockdowns?

The end result is an adjustable breastplate, ribbons hanging down the back, Erte through a screen, a lack of touch.










process images via Hannah Zbitnew