Eddie Condé

Weighted is a design research and experimental textile project. As a double degree student in design and archaeology, I am working in the intersection of these fields to recreate past textile making and explore how separation from textile manufacturing affects contemporary design practice and our relationship with textile objects. I want to re-familiarize people with textiles as one of humanity’s foundational technologies, which still requires immense human labour to produce even as these technologies have developed. 
 
To do this I explored warp weighted weaving, where warp threads are held taut by suspended weights. Loom weights have been found at archaeological sites dating to the Neolithic, over 8000 years ago. I built a loom out of a bed frame and scrap wood, using found rocks as loom weights. I kept the weights attached to the final piece, which is an experiment in retaining process and technique in a finished work.