Image supplied by Lillie Paton
Impale the Fabric of Oppression is a collaborative textiles event set to be held on Saturday 21 October at La La La’s from 2.30pm-6pm.
The event is aimed at women, nonbinary and trans people who ‘identify with the burdensome experiences and expectations of womanhood and femininity’.
Event co-organiser Lillie Paton said the event is about creating a space where people can express themselves and offer and receive support.
“The goal is to provide a safe space for individuals to share their experiences and desires, and either reject or embrace their personal femininity,” she said.
“So, it’s basically just a space for people to kind of get angry and talk about it.”
Participants will be invited to sew or create any number of textile pieces that will be added to a tapestry style final artwork.
Ms Paton said there is no need for any prior textile experience.
“It’s more about opening up and allowing people to come together and talk about it and offer each other support … by using our hands and creating this tapestry and putting all our different words and experiences into one tangible piece,” she said.
Ms Paton said all materials and tools will be provided but attendees are encouraged to bring either random scraps of fabric or an item of clothing that has made them feel confined or restricted.
“We’ve already started making little pieces to put in the tapestry and then on the event day you can come in and make your own small pieces to add to the tapestry,” Ms Paton said.
“So, any of the things you’ve experienced you get to sew onto a piece of fabric, and we’ll add it to the artwork.”
The idea stemmed from a university class the three organisers took together, which prompted them to form a community collaborative collective known as The Unsupport Group.
The Unsupport Group seek to create more spaces for expression of emotion and frustration with societal pressures of femininity.
Event co-organiser Grace Chipperfield said this is the first but hopefully not the last creative collaborative event held by The Unsupport Group.
“It’s become a lot clearer that a lot of people feel the same way, there just hasn’t been a space for people to kind of express that so hopefully after this there’ll be more events,” they said.
“Will it be a tapestry again? Maybe, maybe not, but I definitely think The Unsupport Group will continue after this.”
To get more information on Impale the Fabric of Oppression and to stay up to date with any future ventures by the collective, the easiest way is to follow @theunsupportgroup on Instagram.