Alexi Freeman

Image by Annika Kafcaloudis

Alexi Freeman is an interdisciplinary artist, fashion & textile designer who juxtaposes speculative ideas with artisanal, biological and technological methodologies. Freeman has developed over twenty critically acclaimed collections of hybrid textile artefacts that caress the parameters of contemporary art, fashion, jewellery and textile design. To address concerns regarding the environmental impacts of these artefacts, Freeman sought to develop methods of producing textiles in a more sustainable way. Through the provision of an RTP Stipend Scholarship, Freeman completed a master’s by Research at RMIT University. Situated within the field of biodesign, he interrogated the potential of microorganisms as eco-analogues for the textile industry. Recent exhibitions include: “Life & Death”, Meat Market (NGV Melbourne Design Week); “Play”, Design Tasmania (Mona Foma); “Future U”, RMIT Gallery and presentations in numerous public forums including Raw Assembly and MPavilion. Freeman’s future provocations include photosynthesising biodegradable activewear, and eveningwear that proposes to harvest renewable energy via infrared radiation.

Wominjeka (Welcome). We acknowledge the Yaluk-ut Weelam as the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet. Yaluk-ut Weelam means ‘people of the river camp’ and is connected with the coastal land at the head of Port Phillip Bay, extending from the Werribee River to Mordialloc. The Yaluk-ut Weelam are part of the Boon Wurrung, one of the five major language groups of the greater Kulin Nation. We pay our respects to the land, their ancestors and their elders—past, present and to the future.