Kiayalyi Ayre Gallery 2022

KIAYALYI AYRE

My project concept revolved around the idea of harmony and discord. The idea stemmed from my visual investigations of the people around me and the way they dressed. In the past there were distinct subcultures such as the Punks with their distressed or customised clothing and spiky hairstyles and the Mods with their smarter Italian inspired outlook.

There were many others that appeared through time or evolved from another subculture. My time growing up I feel, has been very different in that there has been no clear subculture or visual identity that separates the youth of today. I noticed my generation have taken bits and pieces from what they liked from different subcultures and combined them together to create a watered-down identity or look they were comfortable with whilst not following a gang or tribe. 

With this in mind, I thought it would be interesting to take recognizable parts of different subcultures, the best or even worst, and combine them. ​I investigated the dominant subcultures of the past and began to piece ideas through sketchbook designing and collage to determine what would work for my own project. I ended up customising existing garments whilst creating patterns for new garments. The range of garments produced are interchangeable with each other to create a clashing of style.​