to boldly go...melin tregwynt in outer space
19 August, 2017
“I’m interested in space from a more social rather than scientific perspective,What happens when you work together with someone on something that brings you closer to outer space?”
To answer that question, Jones turned to a local plumber, clog maker and stain glass artist and woollen mills to explore how their skills would work in a “cosmic context.” The result is a full-fledged space suit made solely from Welsh materials and using traditional craftsmanship.
Hefin asked Melin Tregwynt to participate and we gave him some fabric (St David’s Cross Indigo) which he used for the spacesuit.
The space boots were provided by a clog maker–also a sci-fi aficionado–who adapted the wooden soled clogs traditionally worn on docks and in the mines to a boot suitable for trekking around on the moon. Jones topped off the ensemble with a helmet made by a local stained glass artist and inspired by the ones worn in 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Originally completed as his graduate project for Goldsmiths College at the University of London, the Welsh Space Campaign, was also a part of the Designers In Residence: Migration exhibition at the Design Museum in London, where Jones completed his residency in 2016.
The project won the Christine Risley Award, a cash prize awarded by the Goldsmiths Textile Collection & Constance Howard Gallery to a graduating Goldsmiths student for outstanding work relating to textiles, in memory of Christine Risley.
This video is of his visit to the National Wool Museum and other makers involved.
NASA have yet to be in contact.
