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YOUR DEVICE
Josh Cartmell
Smalltown Boy is a social and personal exploration of growing up queer in a small, rural town. Societal views of my hometown where I grew up reflected the wider judgement and criticism of queer people in the 1980s - hence the heavy inspiration of the 80s club kids: creating wearable and unexplainable art. It was important to stay true to the club kids throughout my development, especially being able to make everything from home like they would, which also benefited me during the pandemic. I wanted to explore hiding my own identity growing up, constantly battling between obvious camp and hidden messages throughout my textile exploration. From the beginning of the project I had an image of creating 'queer warriors', which is what I perceive club kids as. I wanted to erase any facial and bodily features, to create something that isn't insecure or fearful, but confident and feared.
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BA (H) Fashion Knitwear Design & Knitted Textiles