PROTOTYPING AS OUTPUT.

“Do you know that through art you can comfort someone, then hear the echo of your own potential”
— Participant in embroidery workshop, Maratane refugee settlement.
Embroidery of a dragon with yellow, red, and golden embellishments, alongside a fabric piece with colorful stitched animal and the name 'MARIUS'.
An embroidered design of a guitar on fabric, outlined with blue thread. The guitar's body is decorated with yellow and black debris, possibly bottle caps, and the neck is stitched with pink thread. The sketch of the guitar is outlined with blue threa

There is a call and response in stitched form between the makers in Maratane and the students at LCF – on the left by Marius, who had never stitched before, “I believe I am a lion with wings” – The student at LCF responded with the dragon, a symbol of her own culture and inner strength.

The “tin sequin guitar” is punched out of ever-present materials, bottle tops – the design is symbolic of the maker’s spirit. Made in Maratane.

Marius completes the tin-sequin-making process using bottle tops, finishing his design to share with others.

“What is our role when human suffering is at the heart of all we encounter? When to be silent? When to act? What are we being taught?  - What should we have faith in now?  ”
— Helen Storey

Red tin sequins in the shape of the DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo) – “Our blood still spilt”

A woman wearing a white chef's hat and colorful traditional clothing holds a piece of fabric with a hand-stitched beaded bracelet design and the name 'BINI' embroidered on it.
A group of five women gathered around a table, looking at handcrafted items, in a brightly lit room with large windows.

Binti shows us her butterfly, about to spread its wings.

Students from the MA Fashion, Textiles, Technology course receive and study the embroideries from Maratane; selecting the ones that intuitively speak to them, in order to inspire a creative response in return.

Prototyping between Syrian and African camps - making soap started in Zaatari with Givaudan.

Women in protective lab coats and colorful headscarves conducting a chemistry experiment with test tubes, liquids, and laboratory equipment on a table.
A black and white painting of a kneeling person with a lit matchstick for a head, holding a bag while reflected on a surface.

The making of scent and soap began in the Zaatari Refugee Camp with a group of women who would eventually form the “Made in Zaatari” cooperative. Trained by Givaudan perfumiers from Paris, Lebanon and Egypt.

In Zaatari, the pain of women’s lives often defied words. Drawing was a way to communicate the unspeakable.

“The Butterfly Tree” of Zaatari – UNHCR base camp, Spring 2019

Two women in colorful clothing and masks, wearing aprons and gloves, preparing soap in a room with a UNHCR banner in the background. The table is filled with soap molds, ingredients, and tools.
Group of women and girls gathered outside a building, wearing colorful traditional African attire and headscarves, some sitting on the ground and others standing, smiling and posing for the photo.

Women are being trained to produce high-quality soap and explore what it might mean to reverse their dependency on UNHCR by becoming nominated industrial suppliers for a permanently procured product. Soap training with Elivra takes place in Maratane refugee settlement.

The soap training ladies take a break between sessions.

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