The Mycelial Network – Wearable Series

Culture & Context

“Community is much more than belonging to something, it’s about doing something together that makes belonging matter” – Brian Solis

Naomi R. Belotindos is a Filipina-Irish artist, educator and activist currently based in Dublin, whose practice celebrates and is often driven by the making process and material manipulation. Naomi’s art practice is multidisciplinary and spans a range of disciplines such as drawing, printmaking and painting, but specialises in a variety of textile art processes – primarily in knit, crochet and dressmaking. Her work reflects her interests in body wearables and fashion, and on themes of her Identity, and celebrates the making process, diversity, community and togetherness, and she often engages in artist collaborations with her peers. She is also available to work as a freelance or commercial artist, and is often publicly or privately commissioned to create work when requested. 

Her degree project seeks to recognise human perseverance through difficult times, and to celebrate human connection. Naomi wants her work to remind us of the power of coming together despite our differences, even through something so simple as textiles – making something to be cherished, together. She enjoys facilitating projects in collective textile making, and invites you to participate and add to her project, The Mycelial Network.

Inspired by Japanese couture designers, such as Rei Kawakubo and Issey Miyake, Naomi seeks to subvert the saprophytic nature of mushrooms and their mycelium network, and to explore this metaphorically through sewing, textile and heat manipulation techniques. The Mycelial Network can be viewed as an interactive event, open to all and not necessarily limited to being exhibited in a gallery space.