Intro 

There is almost a poetic appeal to crafts. Crafts repeat in the same ways, the same shapes using cultural codes as an aesthetic language. The knowledge, skills and labour residing in crafts make them situated, i.e. highly contextualised and localised practices. Maybe textile practices, out of all other crafts, has one of the deepest links with the territory and culture; weaving for example constitutes a substantial part of world heritage, so much so that women have sung their lives through the practice of weaving – this is evidenced by a large body of collected folk songs all over the world, born from textile practice. Weaving skills have been passed on to one generation after the other, and it was no surprise that before the industrial revolution in some countries, almost every household possessed a loom. Through its continuity – in contrast to fashion that goes by trends – textile craft provides established codes for interpreting local culture. In doing so, they inhabit place in a caring and conscious way. Notwithstanding the richness and deep entanglement of textile crafts with territories and cultures, the stories we tell about textile and fashion sustainability remain fuelled by numbers and facts, and little by the sense of deep connection embedded in the making process. We are constantly informed about the huge environmental impact in terms of waste and CO2 generated by the textile industry; however, we know little to nothing about the conscious practices of textile production at artisanal scale.

The purpose of my Marie-Curie research project (November 2023-May 2026) is to turn this situation around and to put practice and more specifically the gestures of creating textiles at the root of how we tell stories about sustainability in fashion. The tension of drawing the needle and thread through different types of textiles, the felt pressure of a pencil as it outlines a new model or the creation of a new colour palette for the collection require different gestures. However, these are subtle, and difficult to describe verbally in a consistent manner. One potential way to better understand the nature of gestures in textile crafts and how they reflect a sustainable worldview, is by looking at their metaphorical meaning. Metaphors are not only figures of speech – many metaphors surrounding the textile universe are already deeply embedded into everyday use, such as for example ‘the fabric of life’, ‘social fabric’, ‘interwoven lives’, ‘clothed in darkness’, ‘web of life’ etc. These are fundamental constructs expressing the way we conceptualise the world around us. Metaphors provide imagery that transcends literal meaning in textile making –stitching, weaving, spinning and other specific gestures are not simply automatic and meaningless movements, they foreground intentions, feelings and ways of thinking about the world that give rise to entire imaginative universes. The purpose of my project is thus to use the concept of metaphor as an entry point for better understanding and capturing textile artisans’ vision of sustainability, in order to elicit and communicate it in a comprehensive way to audiences. To do this, I set up an interdisciplinary method combining approaches from gesture studies and imaginative ethnography. Gesture studies is an interdisciplinary field which recognises that gestures are born from social conditioning and repetition and facilitates an analysis under a phenomenological and experiential lens. Imaginative ethnography is a specific branch of ethnography which uses creative tools such as video, photo, drawing and poetry among other, to collect data in an imaginative way. Combining approaches from these two areas enables me to map metaphoric gestures of at least 12 textile artisans across Europe. The resulting experimental field research process is conducted between April and August 2024 and includes case studies in my home country, Romania and other European countries such as Italy, Spain, France, Ireland, Norway, Finland, Greece and Cyprus. Expected results are both theoretical – the development of a novel approach for mapping gestures – and practical – a final exhibition showcasing the work of participating textile artisans through the lens of metaphoric gestures, that elicits ideas of sustainability. Below, I discuss in detail the data collection process by using a concrete example and its contribution to fostering an anthropology of gesture in crafts that is able to change our perspective of sustainability.

A methodology for mapping gestures in textile craft

To proceed with the mapping and communication of metaphoric gestures in textile crafts, the project methodology had to combine different approaches. The study of gesture provided a more rigid and quantitative method that draws from linguistics and dance theory. Imaginative ethnography offered a qualitative and flexible perspective from which to look at gestures. While the first defines qualities of gesture using established models that can evidence patterns of movement, the second aims to explore different strategies for telling stories about these gestures, using a micro-ethnographic and creative approach. The combination of these two ways of thinking and looking at gestures enabled the design of the field research trip that was conducted inside artisans’ workshops. 

The duration of data collection was set at two half-days with each artisan. The first part focussed on the mapping of metaphoric gestures, the second one on their communication. To map textile artisans’ gestures, I first developed a framework, a sort of a guide, that could tell me what I should be looking at and what tools I should use to collect the necessary information. The guide was informed by transferring metaphor theory from linguistics to the world of gesture and movement, for which I used the classification of gestures in dance developed by Rudolf Laban. To the purpose of this article, I won’t discuss the details of the conceptual and research base of my methodology, but describe more in-depth how the method worked in practice. To do this, I will use one of the artisan case studies analysed in the project – Ilkan Koral, a Cypriot artisan based in Spain, working with macrame, the art of interlacing thick yarns using knots. 

During the first day I was introduced to Ilkan’s practice in his workshop. I could observe and take notes about his workspace, understand more about his projects and the development of his practice. For Ilkan, his workspace is a work-in-progress, a continuously shifting space that adapts to his creative needs. At the same time, it’s personal and intimate, encapsulating also aspects of private life, and not only work. Natural colours such as light green bring the space to life (see Image 1). Although the workspace is small it accommodates all the tools and materials of the artisan and can occasionally be extend to other areas of the house if required by the nature of the project. In an abstract and metaphorical way, the workspace performs the role of a sort of lungs of a bigger system, which contract and extend based on the artisan’s needs. It also represents a repository of many of the artisan’s sketchbooks, in which drawings mix with phrases expressing personal thoughts and feelings, like in a diary (see Image 2). In these sketchbooks, words inspire drawings, and drawings close the circle of creation and of life stories. Th workspace as lungs and the sketchbook diary as a closing circle were the two metaphors identified during observation. 

Image 1, Image 2

Next, I collected more information about Ilkan’s practice connected to sustainability and his perspective of gestures through an interview. Sustainability is for the artisan a matter of materials as well as of primordial creation. In terms of materials, he creates as much as possible using natural yarns and engages with practices of reuse and recycling of materials. He also experiments with natural dyes and colours to paint the fabric. However, sustainability goes also beyond the concrete material aspect; for Ilkan, the creative process is sustainable in itself, as a fundamental and primordial process that spreads its roots deep within life and the environment which generates it. In the artisan’s perception, his gestures are intuitive, as they unfold in a spontaneous and sensuous manner. They have been shaped by the events in his life and his family story, especially his living context where the natural landscape has predominated throughout his younger years. This generates a tendency for performing gestures that are whole, complete and expansive, focussing on the creation of either circles or intricate patterns which retain something from the organic aspects of nature (see Image 3 and 4).  In conclusion, Ilkan’s conceptualisation of the topic of sustainability emerges from the cycle of creation which has again deeper and more intimate roots, for example in his upbringing and personal development. To better assess how his vision expanded beyond a purely materialistic perspective of sustainability, and what his gestures could reveal about it, I started investigating more closely the qualities of his movements. 

Image 3, Image 4

Movement, as a psycho-physical process, is an outward expression of inner intent. This is why the focus on the objective description of movement itself is important to be able to define how internal sensations manifest on the exterior. Movement can be free or bound (quality: flow), it can be performed in a light or strong manner (quality: weight), it can be sustained or quick and hasty (quality: time) and can take place in a flexible or direct way (quality: space). These qualities can express thus complex matters related to ideas of sustainability, in a manner that acquires metaphoric value and becomes thus important for the project. At this point I won’t go into details about the constructed research framework that enabled me to link metaphor to movement and ideas of sustainability. For those interested in the research foundations can read further the dedicated footnote at the end of the article.

I therefore proceeded with a series of audio-visual recordings capturing the range of Ilkan’s movements while working. I used a combination of static and dynamic recordings – i.e. fixed and handheld camera (See image 4 and 5). The analysis of these recordings in terms of movement reveals the fact that the gestures are marked most of the times by a firm and strong movement – both when tying a knot and when pulling the yarn through the loops forming the knot. In terms of flow, there is no predominant quality, as the artisan ‘s gestures vary between precision – when he arranges the knots so that they’re not too tight, nor too loose – and unrestricted and free movement – the arch-like gesture performed to pull the yarn through the loop forming the knot. However, we should note that the trunk of the body stays fixed while working, becoming a sort of point of reference for the limbs, which expand in space through movements. This renders the extent of movement indirect, expanding beyond the kinesphere – i.e. physical limits of the body. The central part of the body thus becomes a knot in itself around which the limbs perform a dance of creation. The analysis of gestures reveals that a strong weight, sustained time and direct space characterise Ilkan’s movements, which again reflect a perspective of sustainability where processes are entangled and therefore form an abstract and complex imaginary. Comparing Ilkan’s movement qualities to other artisans who also possess an entangled perspective of sustainability, will enable me to retrieve any emerging patterns that reinforce the correspondences between ways of envisioning sustainability (perspective) and specific qualities of movement (intentionality).

 Image 4, Image 5

The second day was dedicated to exploring ways of making sense of the artisan’s metaphoric gestures in a way that communicates their intentions to the audience. To achieve this, I used creative writing exercises and the generation of audio-visual imagery. The first exercise deployed the writing method called stream of consciousness to capture the deepest thoughts and sensations of the artisan. First, Ilkan listened to a selected piece of music while working, then he stopped and started writing after which he returned to his work (this time he could speak out loud his thoughts). The writing uncovered a series of metaphors and alliterations such as sensations going up like a piano; feelings ~liberation; threads, me, macrame, music. These are deeply embedded in the artisan’s flux of consciousness and capable of surfacing through the tailored method borrowed from linguistics. As the verbal metaphors and figures of speech that emerged through this process were in a way or another connected to ideas of sensations, identity and matter (threads), I decided to design the processes of generating imagery that highlights these aspects in Ilkan’s work. 

I therefore first proceeded with capturing images of his work, that put the flow of sensations in the foreground. To do this, I used long exposure photography which is a technique that uses slow shutter speed. The final effect is one of ethereal, abstract, and dreamy atmospheres due to the softening of movements. As a result of this technique, Ilkan’s range of movements became visible as a continuum, a sort of soft thread that follows the trace of his sensations (see Image 6 and 7).

Image 6, Image 7

The second element I had to communicate through imagery were aspects connected to the topic of identity. For this, I used micro-cameras that I embedded in the working process. I used two micro-cameras, which are generally used for surveillance purposes. I adapted them to become attachable to the body of the artisan and capture movement from less conventional and more immersive perspectives. I decided to position the cameras in three locations: the forearm, the tip of the foot and the body part between the chest and the shoulder. I selected these locations based on the observations of Ilkan’s qualities of movement. In this process, I noted that feet and hands perform harmonic and dance-like movements (back and forth movement like in a dance with the yarns), while the area linking the trunk of the body to the limbs/arms represents the juncture of inner and outer space (the place where inner sensations resonate on the outside as directional movement). 

Lastly, I addressed the topic of matter through audio-visual recording. To recreate the sensation of movement of the yarns and to foreground the material aspect of creation, I used two strategies. In the first one I used a flowing, close-up movement of the camera that followed the threads of the yarn, from their end (on the ground) to the piece that Ilkan was working on through macrame (see image 8). 

Image 8

The second strategy I used was that of setting up a scenography. The elaborated piece was set on a mannequin and the yarns were stretched out so that they did not touch the ground anymore (see image 9). The audiovisual methods used for communicating the vision about sustainability, using the lens of metaphors identified during work/performance of gestures, provide an introspective and immersive approach that is reflective of artisans’ intentions. They also offer a starting point for developing new storytelling strategies that are in line with artisans’ vision instead of reflecting the perspective of storytellers. 

Image 9

In conclusion, the tailored data collection method facilitated the mapping of artisans’ gestures in relation to how they conceptualise ideas of sustainability through textile practice. It also provided new angles from which to communicate these ideas to audiences. Based on the notion of metaphor theory, the tools and processes used to map movements, offered an introspective perspective on how artisans use gestures (intentionality) and how these could be linked to different ways of conceptualising ideas of sustainability. Although this article exemplifies the utility of the method for mapping and transmitting ideas of sustainability in textile work in novel ways, it is necessary to conclude all field trips in order to obtain relevant results that show how ideas about sustainability are linked to specific gesture qualities. Once the analysis of all collected data is completed, it will reveal the emergence of any existing patterns on the back of which we can build a valid hypothesis of how specific ways of conceptualising (i.e. thinking about, defining, perceiving and adopting) sustainability are linked to the intentionality of gestures during textile practice. In the case of the emergence of clear patterns we can speak about the need to give rise to an anthropology of gestures specific for textile crafts.  

Towards an anthropology of gestures in textile crafts 

As illustrated by the analysis of the case study, gesture is intimately entwined with human language and thought. It can be considered to be a universal language, as it goes beyond cultural boundaries. Gestures, like metaphors speak to everyone, no matter the background, so much that they become a unique entry point into understanding textile artisans’ visions of sustainability. However, gestures are also intricate and complex, which poses many challenges for research. 

Following its high exploratory potential, an entire body of research was dedicated to gesture within anthropology. However, we currently lack an anthropology of gesture dedicated to crafts and more specifically to textile practice. So why do we need an anthropology of gesture in crafts? It is because of the unique vision and methods that this discipline contributes towards a contemporary understanding of complex issues within the craft sphere, among which the subject of sustainability. Current approaches for tackling sustainability in crafts continue to use a static and traditional lens. This vision propagates a view of crafts as part of traditional heritage connected to a slow and thus sustainable production rhythm as well as durable approaches in the form of natural materials. However, crafts, and particularly textile crafts which are some of the earliest human practices, embed intangible knowledge that is rarely brought in discussion when tackling ideas of sustainability. Crafts and particularly textile practices are intrinsically localised practices, with a constantly evolving history that is deeply marked by socio-cultural changes. How do artisans approach making as an integral process based on aspects of durability, care and connection? How do they enact their beliefs, opinions and sensations about sustainability through making? Anthropological methods are suitable for such analyses as they pursue variation instead of fixed approaches and are highly sensible, situating human behaviour in the context of an expanding sociocultural context. An anthropological lens zooming in on the gestures and practices of creating textiles is therefore not only interesting, but necessary to understand complex matters such as sustainability and to be able to construct innovative approaches for communicating this form of knowledge in a meaningful and impactful way to the public. Building upon anthropological voices from the past, such as the research conducted by Ray L. Birdwhistell who combined film-based microanalysis with linguistics, we need to go further. As shown by the case study analysis, to contextualise gesture withing textile crafts integratively, it is necessary to operate at the cross-section of reason and the sensuous. As this domain is characterised by the vague and fluctuating, traditional methods manage to function only to a limited degree. To push the boundaries of conventional methods, artistic and imaginative practice can open up new horizons of the possible. Working thus with techniques and technologies in a creative way becomes the entry point into mapping metaphoric gestures in textile crafts and marks the rise of an anthropology of gestures within crafts that is reflective of and thus closer to how artisans conceptualise and enact ideas of sustainability through their work.  

Footnote

In my project I developed the following 4 sustainability categories to guide me through a classification of artisan work: 

1. Productive context: sustainability is all about heritage preservation and bringing this forward through innovation.
2. Matter/materials: sustainability is about innovative materials, recycling, repurposing, circular economy.
3. Reflexivity: sustainability arises in the connection with the end user. The artisan uses artistic practices reflecting on technical or societal aspects of their work, that are ultimately targeting the end users of their products.
4. Entangled creation: sustainability unfolds according to the vision that everything is connected with each other and influences everything else around.  

Based on Ilkan’s statements and his vision of sustainability, his work falls across two of the sustainability categories: matter/materials and entangled creation. This indicates the fact that his gestures possess specific characteristics. According to the Laban model in dance studies, the predominant characteristics of movements are called motion factors; these form the qualities of movement that reflect internal sensations to the outside, where they become visible. These are given by the relation to space (how the subject moves in space), to weight (the intention to act with lightness – delicacy of touch – or with firmness, strength), to time (the decision to move with a sustained, indulgent, lingering quality or with quickness, urgency and acceleration) and to flow (the progression of movement that can be either bound/precise or unrestricted/free). We can easily associate the 4 sustainability categories to the 4 motion factors. Sustainability as a process of heritage preservation and innovation foregrounds the need to think about how to act within a productive environment with specific barriers and enablers. This is why the notion of space as a productive space becomes fundamental when thinking about movement. Sustainability as connected to the transformation of matter into handmade products is strongly determined by the ability to manipulate and sense textures, shapes and forms. This is why movements performed under this understanding are strongly influenced by the notion of weight. Sustainability as an idea arising in connection with the end user takes mainly an imaginative and artistic form, having a strong societal or technological purpose. This is why artisans operating within this vision use artistic practices reflecting on technical or societal aspects of their work. In working with this creative vision, the power of intuition is fundamental. This is why it best links to the motion of factor of time, where the performer of the movement decides to move slow or quick. Lastly, the category of entangled creation offers a perspective of sustainability that unfolds according to the vision that everything is connected with each other and influences everything else around it. It provides an idea of flow, of constant shifts and networked relations. This links easily with the motion factor of flow present in the Laban model. 

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