Interview with A/D/O Journal
Chloé Vadot from A/D/O came to the Ma-tt-er studio earlier this year to interview Ma-tt-er about how reimagining materials can improve their responsibility for the planet.
We go through our days interacting with a plethora of materials, from the walls of our homes, the sheets on our beds, to the bristles of our toothbrushes. Our experience with the material world around us is generally devoid of context; most objects show no trace of their production, the supply chains which transported them, or the waste that they will generate. For example, it takes over 7,000 liters of water to make a pair of jeans, and at least 25% of an animal hide goes to waste when creating leather accessories. Other types of waste such as corn husks, mussel shells and sawdust are rarely seen as having the potential to produce new value and recent reports on typically recycled plastics show that they are entering landfill.
In an exponentially growing world, where the futures of food, living, dressing and traveling are being reimagined, the thread to maintaining a healthy planet is to redefine our daily consumption cycles and to question the circularity of everything that we touch and see. Through reimagining and redefining the materials that we consume and that we waste, Seetal Solanki and her London-based practice Ma-tt-er are highlighting their relevance and potential in society.
Seetal Solanki graduated from Central Saint Martins in 2007, where she completed a Masters in Material Futures. After her graduation, Solanki developed her creative practice working with companies like Nissan as a color material designer and Alexander McQueen as head of the textile print department, roles which enabled her to deeply explore the characteristics of textile, as well as its future possibilities. “That’s always been my question,” she told The Journal. “What is the past, present and future of textiles and materials?”