An early start in the Studio to beat the heat that will inevitably set in.
Overnight, there was a storm that woke me up at 1.30am. It’s definitely cooled things down. After the storm, I struggled to get back to sleep. I searched for Thai folding beds and imagined I would somehow need to start integrating this into my routine.
After doing some exploration yesterday on foot around Nambour and later some project-based exploration online about the Philippine barong (a traditional embroidered shirt) I find myself considering regionalism and what it looks like.
A list of interesting and mundane things I have noted so far from in and around Nambour:
In supermarkets, checkouts with actual people serving is still very much a thing.
In the same supermarket, spray deodorant was kept in a special unlocked cabinet with glass doors. There was a press for assistance button. Why?
A beach volleyball court for rent. It wasn’t at the beach.
The last phase of life often means moving to a regional town, riding bikes together in matching active wear, and wearing wildly colourful clothing.
Suburbanisation sees new housing butting against farmland.
At a department store that typically prints digital photos on-demand takes 10 days. The pics are process off site. Maybe everyone has photo paper and printers, and the local print cartridge industry is doing a roaring trade? Maybe it’s slow digital.
Learnings (so far) on the Philippine barong:
A semi-transparent light dress shirt made out of pineapple fibre. Often embroidered. Great for the hot tropical climate.
The barong styles evolved over time, but was definitely influenced by Spanish colonisers.
Some say the transparent material of the barong was to prevent hidden weapons being concealed by the working class or anti-colonisers.
Today I’ll make some sketches around the decolonised barong and play with the concepts of an invisibility barong.
