Fashion Graduates Printmaking Product Screen Print Solo artist

Jasmin Javed

posted by Marcroy August 2, 2017

Jasmin Javed graduated from UCA with a BA in Textiles for Fashion and Interior, where she specialised in printed textiles. Her work in an opportunity to explore and reconnect with her cultural heritage, her German and Pakistani identity. She has always felt torn between her diverse mix of cultures, feeling more connected to one side of her identity or the lack of connection to both. The convergence of these identities allows her to find her own sense of belonging.

Jasmin’s textile designs incorporate Urdu words with Morden western architectural themes, exploring her personal heritage with Pakistan balanced with the Western society that she grew up in. Words such as ‘beautiful’ and ‘liberated’, printed onto silk headscarves allow for a fluid connection, empowering the women that wear them, often in times that it is hard for them to hold onto their identities, religious beliefs and cultural heritage. This echoes the way that she feels living in the Western world.

For her final collection, she made a total of 10 headscarves, all exploring the theme of cultural fusion combining Urdu calligraphy with Western architecture. To achieve a contrast between the very structural architectural elements and the flow of the calligraphy, she decided to combine digital printing with screen-printing.

To create these, she would manipulate photos of architecture on Photoshop, get them printed digitally via the Silk Bureau, then print on top using discharge paste to bleach out the background, creating a halo around the calligraphy. Then using the same screen she would print the same image on top with a darker colour to make the calligraphy stand out.

Her colour palette is also inspired by Western architecture, mainly consisting of greyish tones, often with a pop of red within her work to keep the contrast between the architecture and the calligraphy consistent.

She has also worked with Devoré throughout this collection. Devoré, also called ‘burnout’ is a fabric technique particularly used on velvets where a mixed-fibre material undergoes a chemical process to dissolve the cellulose fibre to create a semi-transparent pattern against more solidly woven fabric.

Working with Devoré is also a way of expressing her creative identity. Since she started university, it has been the technique she enjoyed most hence why it’s become a part of this collection. This process allowed her to create a contrast as well as allowing her to explore materials other than silks and satins to be worn as headscarves.