Marie Ledendal

Liquid-crystal-textile-print-close-up-by-Marie-Ledendal-web2

Most project I work with lies in the boders between textile designe, textile researche and textile art.  I am intersting in what happens when one steps outside that ‘box’ of were things perhaps normally are, when one starts bending bounderies. I love working with others, both in the contect of teachhing as well as in collective formats and collective art projects inspire me and is something I really enjoy doing.

I have a practice-based PhD in Smart Textiles/Textile Design from School of Textiles and Design, at the Heriot-Watt University, UK and a Masters in Fine Arts in Textile Design from the Swedish School of Textile, Borås University, Sweden. I have also completed an exchange semester at the Nottingham Trent University UK where I studied textile print.

I have been active in the field of Smart Textiles (materials that act, interact and respond to their environment) for over 10 years, where I have specialized in textiles with colour-changing properties, such as thermochromic (heat-sensitive) and photochromic (UV-sensitive) colours. I work from an exploratory and experimental approach. I often work with the textile techniques; print (screen print as well as inkjet), knit (hand knit as well as machine knit) and embroidery (hand embroidery as well as machine embroidery).

I finished my practise-based Doctor of Philosophy in Smart Textiles/Textile Design at Heriot-Watt University, UK in August 2015. The thesis ‘Thermochromic textiles and sunlight activating systems: an alternative means to induce colour change’ presents my practical as well as theoretical investigation into the potential of utilizing the sun to activate colour change in textiles printed with thermochromic dyes to provide a more sustainable system for activation, compared to traditional activation methods. I investigated the possibility of using photovoltaics to power heating circuits that in turn activate colour change in the textiles, as well as to use sunlight as a direct activator to colour change the chromic dyes. The research outcome focused on defining design methods for design applications for textiles with reversible imageries/thermochromic dyes as well as proof of concept of using photovoltaics as an indirect activator for the thermochromic dyes.

I completed my Master in Fine Arts in Textile Design at the Swedish School of Textiles in Borås prior to the PhD. My projects during the MA focused on developing and exploring Smart Textiles in healthcare environments. The investigations had a patient-centred perspective and explored the use of Smart Materials for interior textiles for hospitals. The MA thesis presented conceptual applications where Smart Textiles act as a sensor controlled ‘textile interface’ to provide long-term patients with feelings of belonging/being connected to people in the ward outside of their isolated room. My Bachelor in Product Design, during which I studied Textile Print Design for a semester at Trent University, was design-method and process based and had a user centred approach.

I am interested in multidisciplinary contexts where different specialists provide the possibility for the research to thrive and inter-connect. I enjoy being in collaborative contexts; my experiences are that sharing is a great catalyst for new ideas. My practise-based research and work, combing craft and technology, has included several collaborations with others in a variety of scientific areas, such as chemistry, electronics, physics as well as other design disciplines, which is something that I find inspiring.

/Marie