Made in Biella?
An installation, which documents a long period of research around the issues concerning the situation in the textile industry in Biella.
The artists visited a range of different textile factories, and met with a range of people connected with the textile industry in Biella, such as the Chamber of Commerce. Through interviews and conversations they collected data on the subject. Their research made them aware of the different periods of change and crisis in the textile industry in the area, with the direct consequence being that a significant number of factories have been forced to close.
They then developed a number of activities, interventions and strategies, using visual and commercial media, to explore the issues and themes that came out of research. The installation, ‘Made in Biella?’, includes: documentation of slogans promoting the textile industry which they collected from people in Biella; a documentary film of interviews, public actions, and factory visits; symbolic letters posted to factories which are now closed, which have been returned by the postal service; and signs which subvert and question the reasons for the factories’ closure, which they re-installed in the now empty factories.
