The Map is Not the Territory and Taking the Cloth: The Role of Fabric in Our Lives: Two Art Pieces to Explore Women’s Relationships with Laura Ashley Plc

Abstract

These two art pieces explore the use of art in making visible the hidden in organisational research findings. They form part of a project on the role of Laura Ashley plc in the identity formation and maintenance of a group of British women. The first paper-based piece explores the two sides of the cotton fabric made by the company: the pure and homely versus the commodity which gives rise to slave labour and ecological devastation. The second, a piece of performative writing, explores the absent stories of unhappiness in in women's narratives about the company.