STOOPWEAR (2019-ongoing)
STOOPWEAR is a collaborative public performance that activates the stoop economy, a moneyless and place-based system of exchange. In every borough of New York City, members of communities regularly leave unwanted (but sometimes otherwise viable) items on stoops, sidewalks, and fences. STOOPWEAR collects discarded textile objects and assesses their need for repair or recontextualization. After changes are made, the reconfigured objects are put back into the neighborhoods of their sourcing and become part of a public collaboration through wearing and using. A map of the five boroughs reflects where the objects were originally sourced and where they are left to circulate again.
STOOPWEAR scrutinizes the problematic affiliations of contemporary textiles: cheap materials and exploited labor, rapid production and consumption, excessive waste, climate change. It offers alternatives to destructive systems through conscientious, community-based design. By reframing the value of existing objects, STOOPWEAR extends the life of textiles and reimagines relationships between people, places, and cloth.
