Lately I’ve found it quite hard to find anything interesting to watch on TV, the only decent programmes I have been able to find are on BBC4. Last night I happened to watch a very interesting documentary on ants and I must say I found their behaviour really fascinating.

I really appreciated their selflessness, their total dedication and devotion to the colony. It is very easy to see a parallel between the ants and our society, where attributes such as being a hard worker, produce a lot and generally being a “useful” member of society are considered good qualities that individuals should aspire to.

Marie Ilse Bourlanges’s work questions these ideas of utility in relation to function and consumption: can a product be useful in a way that does not involve function, or consumption?

The effects that time has on objects, like ageing, wear and tear, discoloration and so on become the focus of Bourlanges’ work: all these factors, in her opinion, add a certain personality, a unique story, to every object that the clean, slick and utilitarian aesthetics of capitalism deny.

Bourlanges’ work could be associated to the ever growing Slow Design movement and the narrative qualities of the fabrics from her “Decay” project invite the viewer/consumer to reflect on the value of consumption. In “Decay” Bourlanges created a carbon paper suit that recorded traces of use and body movements. These marks were then used to create new patterns for knitted sweaters.

To find out more about Marie Ilse Bourlanges’s work, please visit her website:

www.marieilsebourlanges.com