In the Abstracting Archetypes master class, costume design students brought commedia dell’artes archetypal characters to life through sculptural costumes, put together in Aalto Studios’ costume workshop. The one-week master class was led by the artist Marta Jiménez Salcedo.
After a deep understanding of these archetypical personalities and their psychological traits, the students were asked to transfer them into wearable structures that interacted with their bodies and with the space.
The work was undertaken in pairs, resulting in the creation of different abstract pieces containing two bodies. The main material used for the task, was scaffolding net in various colors, a synthetic mesh normally utilized in construction works. The limitation to this specific element drove the students to a deep search into constructive, aesthetic and conceptual possibilities through its modification.
The master class culminated in a public performance at Väre, Aalto University, where the students had the chance to experiment with their own pieces the effects of time, movement and space.