Shell-ter-wear: Tribes and Tents explores the relationship
between the individual and the collective through the intermediary
layers that separate and connect garment to shelter. In particular,
how do individual choices and actions shape the possibilities of what
we may achieve cooperatively? I am interested in using the
transitional space between garment and shelter to create scenarios
for interpersonal connectedness in which what is given over by the
individual leaves its mark on how the collective builds itself.
Shell-ter-wear, designed by Christine Foerster in 2005, is a
medium based on modules made of fabric lined with alternating snaps,
light weight collapsible tent poles and hand-crafted connector units.
Although derived from simple forms, Shell-ter-wear can be
combined to make highly individualized garments. Likewise, these
garments can break their personal boundaries to merge into larger
architectural spaces.