Rockabetty - the film
Tara works as an independent artist, curator and cultural producer. Liz is an artist interested in the history of modernity and how it resurfaces in contemporary culture transformed by technology and globalisation. Tara is the founder of ARTeConnect, a collaborative network of artists, designers, educators and social entrepreneurs who have a shared passion for working creatively with technology. In 2019, along with two other ARTeConnect artists, Liz and Tara produced a garment for World of Wearable Art (NZ) and received third place in the Transform Category.
Rockabetty is an illuminated, 1950’s inspired circle skirt and pleated top. Both pieces are constructed from recycled tissue paper, discarded exhibition posters, LED lights, cardboard and assorted fixings.
The skirt is textured with circular cutouts of different sizes. This surface treatment allows the colour and pattern of the printed poster to break through in the abstract, creating voids and shadows which vary the colour temperature of the light seen throughout the garment. The lights move in a programmed sequence beneath the skirt, revealing muted design elements from the posters, punctuated by the cutouts.