The groundwork for this project was based heavily in my personal experiences as a mudlark from January to present. By investigating the act of collecting washed up objects, and through the people I met along the way, I explored the Thames foreshore as a borderland, where the spatiotemporal dimension of experience is destabilised, and modern life is redefined by the actions and processes of the river. Through the creative reusing of these materials, I hope to shed light on the importance of touch in our lives, and how mudlarking is a step towards reformulating the ancient tradition of perceiving the body as sentient and the skin as intelligent. Through strengthening the body-mind connection we can hope to achieve a more present existence and a more stable experience of life. By interrogating why we choose to pick certain things up, we can explore how these objects tell us about ourselves, how they form a personal archaeology. I wanted to create a garment that appeared to be, like us, a product of its surroundings, as though it had evolved on the riverbed. By using found objects, I questioned and channelled my desires to pick up and wear found objects, creating a garment with a personal archaeology presented to the world, for all to feel.
