TARTUTTAJAT || The Carriers: The Materials and The Making

When the pandemic swept over the continents, many countries donned the lockdown status. During the time of social distancing, working from the home and following other measures of precaution, it was only natural to search for the materials of this collection among those naturally available at home.

TARTUTTAJAT || The Carriers is completely handmade using only the recycled materials. At the base of each mask, there are yoga mats and other foamed plastics that had been previously used as exercise equipment and packaging materials or were leftovers of earlier craftings. The ribbons attached to the masks for fastening are all leftovers of other works or salvaged from various items over time. The predominant material for this collection is the colorful plastic from the daily groceries, mainly from the different bottles and lids that had been collected by me and the friends around me. My heartfelt gratitude towards all those who contributed! In addition to the foams and plastics, some broken necklaces and brooches found a new purpose in the details of these masks.

To find the best shape for the base of the masks was an episode of trials and errors, some of which resulted in the rather amusing solutions later to be discarded. Developing the mask designs further and getting to know the materials better led to the final base shape and a work routine that became a reliable foundation to build the whole collection upon. The trash and the leftovers became the foam canvases for the plastic 3D paint!  

The colorful yet translucent plastics were a mesmerizing material to work with! There was something quite beautiful in the rich colors and the shining surfaces. The thin pieces of plastics offered a wide range of possibilities for manipulation only limited by the imagination. They responded to the heat and the cold, to the scissors and the blades. No matter how big or how small the piece, it found its place to be on the masks. The unpredictable behavior of the thin plastic when combined with the heat sometimes led to the surprises which then in turn spawned more new ideas to try out. Even while a new way of using the plastics was introduced with each mask, some ideas were left on the table. Perhaps to be seen in the future as a part of a different collection!

Made during the time of social distancing, I am thankful to those who helped, supported and inspired me during this progress. After all, the first collection of TORN was not only about designing, testing and making of the masks, the website was launched, the photo shoot held and its results edited and many other things had to be thought of and considered. Now TARTUTTAJAT || The Carriers have been released and they will be showcased on these sites for the years to come.

For more footage of the making of progress and other extra shoots, please consider following TORN’s Instagram stories at the official account.

Until next time,

sincerely

Iina