Kasia Töns: Panoply

Kasia Töns is a textile artist working and living on Peramangk Country (Adelaide Hills). Hand embroidery and mask making are central to her practice, which sits at the intersection of art, fashion, and craft. Her process is slow and intuitive, colourful, and expressive. Panoply is an exploration of how sculptural textiles can support mental well-being in emergency evacuation situations. Motivated by the uncertainty of life and a fascination for textiles and architecture, Töns presents three laboriously hand-stitched iterations of Panoply. The design elements of colour, shape, base, doors and ‘windows’ are personal to the needs of the artist with the idea that this modular approach can be adapted to the needs of different inhabitants. The main considerations are the ability to make and transport it by oneself, be able to look out but not to be looked in upon and to have multiple camouflaged points for entry/exit. These entry/exit points can also be used to join with other ‘panoplies’ to create the option of either a communal dwelling or a private one.