SHELTER

TRAVELLER. And his shelter. Transformable object that provides multiple functions – cloth, blanket, bag, sleeping – bag, sitting pack and a shelter. It is adapted for using on a daily basis (festivals, walks near seaside, parks and other time spent outside the house), as well as while leaving to an unknown environment (travelling, studying or working abroad). The visual character of the shelter signifies the descent of the user – origin and identity, preserving connection with owner’s roots while being away from home.

ROOTS. When I was little I used to spend a lot of time in the house of my grandparents, in the countryside of Latvia. Since then a lot has happened and could be collected as moments to remember. But memories from that house are one of the strongest. The most magical place in the house was the room where, always neatly placed on the bed, was my grandmothers Latvian traditional wool blanket. I remember covering myself with it when there was storm outside, or when the fresh morning air was coming through the open doors of the house. And there were moments when I wanted to hide from everyone in the house by pulling that blanket over my head. Nowadays, when I want to be in privacy and safety, in my mind I travel back to those days and visualise me under that blanket.

It made me think about our relationship with blanket – tradition, culture, necessity, decoration and cloth. Perceived as a daily need, the blanket is our companion from very beginning to the end. We feel protected under the blanket and it draws the shapes of private space around us. If one could always have his own blanket where to collect memories, where to hide and find privacy, and take it with in everyday life…

BLANKET. It is one of the most significant items where the tradition of different cultures and life moments is woven in.  It is a very ritual object not only visually, but also in our interaction with it. In each of its applications we tend to repeat the same moves – when covering the bed with a blanket, when covering ourselves or other person, when wrapping things or using it for saddle up the horse. I was inspired by the functional blanket folding ritual in military world, from the old Japanese wrapping tradition Furoshiki and heritage of blanket wearing in Latvia.

Project | BA Graduation work, Art Academy of Latvia

Concept | To create a portable shelter for a person – wanderer, who is away from home in close or far distance for different reasons

Scope | Research 41 pages. Prototype scale 1:1, material traditional Latvian wool textile and water repellent fabric

Ph. Anete Ruke