Chains is a transdisciplinary artist practicing traditional fine craft to produce modern objects of necessity; such as a blanket, chair or sweater. Items are made from post consumer materials, and cleaned or treated to regenerate their functionality. No machinery or unnatural substances are used in production, while artistry and quality are prioritized to create items of singularity. Each one is distinctly contemporary in appeal and useful as such, yet originating entirely outside our linear materials economy. Counter to modern manufacturing systems, the artistic process is slow, methodical and impossible to reproduce or duplicate.
To exhibit the contrast, detailed documentation of the entire production—from intention and technique, to materials and labor—are made publicly and permanently available online.
In this way, visibility holds the artist and the buyer accountable to one another in the enhancement of the social and ecological fecundity of the community. Both the artwork and the production record, go beyond economics as a mode of preservation and transmittance of knowledge and techniques.
Rooted in an intimate understanding of industrial manufacturing models and mass marketing, Chains draws upon experience from over fifteen years of employment as a commercial creative director. During this period, she accepted employment from companies lacking civic responsibility.
Presently, she acknowledges this ecological and social debt to society as motivation to atone. The pseudonym, Chains, represents the artist’s opposition to commercialization and defection from the system.
About
“Her expansive knowledge and experience of marketing, new media, creative production, branding and trend forecasting has been sought by numerous brands far and wide throughout Canada and the US. Steph’s utilizing and authentic approach is evident in all that she does: from her handmade quilts that have been a creative outlet since childhood, to her inspiration reference points that stem from anti-establishment mentalities, 1960’s sci-fi movies and everything in between.”
