Stephen Willats

Modern Dream - Multiple Clothing, 1991

In this work on paper for a Multiple Clothing work calledModern Dream, the various items of the proposed garment can be disassembled and kept inside a case. The plastic panels are to be held together by Velcro strips and the coloured panels contain a flexible VDU screen which can be programmed by an interactive key board mounted on the sleeves. The wearer can key in the messages they want to display and control the way they wish to present themselves to others, revealing changing aspects of their thoughts and reactions.

'Visual display units are attached to individual panels and programmed from control modules which are built into each sleeve. Different words can be composed and pulsed at various frequencies that are individually set. Control module on left sleeve gives panel number, and the letters that are fed into each VDU. On the right sleeve, the control module sets the pulses frequency, the brightness, and monitors to the wearer of what is being displayed. Computer chip and power source are built into the top of the clothing assemblage.'

Stephen Willats, Multiple Clothing, Verlag der Buchhandlung Walther Konig, 2000

Stephen Willats: Modern Dream - Multiple Clothing

52cm x 64cm Poster paint, pencil, Letraset text, ink on paper