“Unread Labels” – Art installation
A project in collaboration with Rūta Žinienė (Blue Messages)
Unread Labels – is an invitation to think what hides behind our everyday clothing and the choices we make, as well as recognising our responsibility to contribute to the changes in our environment.
Second-hand clothes covered with Indigo texts carry messages about the textiles and fashion industry, the information that is not readily available or could not be found on the labels of the clothes. It shows the dark side of a light and beautiful piece of clothing.
Indigo dye is chosen as a symbol. It is one of the oldest natural pigments used in textiles, obtained from different plants, depending on the region. There was a time when indigo was considered a luxury product, even called blue gold. Along with the production of jeans, this dye became very popular, a synthetic version of it was created. In a way indigo became a symbol of textiles mass production.
Look at the labels, look behind them.
This art installation was commissioned by The Ministry of Environmental Protection of Lithuania, as part of their project “Mission: Zero” final event – “Eco meet up”. The event took place in Bernardinai park, Vilnius, August 2019, where it was also being created on the spot (with some preparations beforehand) – people were asked to bring their old white clothes and either donate them to the installation or get involved more and write a message on these clothes themselves.
Here you can see a few images from “Unread Labels” exhibition at Ideas Block in 2020, where this project was presented in a gallery environment. Photos by Turbonaitė Photography
