How do you perceive your body and those of others? Do you feel the need to fit in, to change your body or how you dress in order to be accepted by others? Why is this a “political issue”? What is the deeper significance of sports and how can it help us gain more power in our lives? What about the clothes I wear, how are they produced and how does one’s consumption habits effect the world?
We took time to explore these questions and more during this project week as well as practically training our bodies.
One day devoted to looking at the deeper significance of sports. Eiko, our sports teacher, introduced the topic of extreme sports and how they can help one build power and self-esteem, improve the ability to focus and be present in the here and now, as well as bringing one to explore their boarders and even going beyond them. In the afternoon we went climbing to explore this topic practically.
One morning we spent in the sewing workshop, a place in Tamera created by some mature women of the community to address the political issue of clothing. The fashion industry is considered to be the 2nd largest polluting industry in the world. Responsible consumption of clothing and up cycling is political acts that effect people globally.
At the sewing workshop we had time with Susanne, who is a master seamstress who up cycles clothing and fabric as her profession and main political expression. We watched the “Life Cycle of a T-Shirt Video” and afterwards dove into a conversation about the political context of the fashion industry, clothing consumption and the work being done in the sewing workshop to responsibly reuse clothing and distributing it to the community.
We had a special guest and old-time friend come all the way from Sintra (Terra Alta) to train with us acrobatics. Henrick was our master guide on the areal silks and trapeze.
