Meet Layna Miyazaki, a graduate from Falmouth University who won the Fashion Communication Award at GFW21. Layna’s final major project is a multi-medium presentation on the warping of time, induced by the pandemic. Through photography, film and GIFs, Layna explores the impact of isolation. You can explore more of Layna’s film work here. Read on below!
How do you feel about winning an award at GFW21?
Incredibly speechless and very grateful. With the challenges of the pandemic, I think everyone has shown resilience and worked really hard. This recognition means so much and it has given me more confidence in myself and my work.
What is the most valuable thing you have learnt at university?
Through my time at University I started to figure out my personal style and the stories I want to tell in my work. Also to have more confidence in my work and my vision. Taking a moment to be proud of what you create! And to live life and enjoy it because doing different things always spark inspiration.
What was the starting point of inspiration for your final project?
I’m influenced by ideas that relate to the notion of time and movement as means of storytelling and self-expression. I was influenced by the idea that the Pandemic warped everyone's sense of time and how we perceive it. The constant question of ‘what day is it again?’ All the days blurred together with no weekdays and weekends but only yesterday, today and tomorrow. What is the meaning of ‘Now?’ Order is the eye of the observer and time for us is this emotional connection to the events of the world that passes and flows. I wanted to express how I was feeling being stuck in isolation.
Trip to Tokyo from Layna Miyazaki on Vimeo.
What form does your FMP take?
For my final project, I decided to create three separate projects but all responding to my relationship with time. It is a mixture of photography, film and gifs.
How has it evolved from your initial ideas and what have you learnt along the way?
My project evolved from only wanting to do film to a mixture of photography, film and gifs. I challenged myself in different ways, figuring out how I was going to shoot or film people during the Pandemic. Collaboration and communication became incredibly important. I think opportunities were made to be able to collaborate with anyone around the world with the technology we have today. I became an art director, stylist, editor, photographer and filmmaker which I enjoyed! The most fulfilling thing to me is to tell a story and I hope people can feel something when they see my work.
Portrait Of Time from Layna Miyazaki on Vimeo.
What are the messages and themes behind your project that you want people to take away? Do explore any topics like diversity, sustainability or politics in your work? (300 words)
My Final Major Project reflect on my complex relationship with time. Time is a powerful force, and I wanted to explore this idea within different projects. The project ‘Trip to Tokyo’ is a mix of gifs and moving image. It evolved out of the ensuing isolation experienced in the pandemic. Animated postcards were created using collage to construct digital spaces that hold onto the memories of distanced loved ones. Stuck in isolation I collaged myself into Tokyo. Instead of lamenting in a time of isolation, this piece moments took me on trips down memory lane by reconnecting with longtime friends from a place I call ‘home.’
The film ‘Portrait of time,’ invited dancers from around Europe to express and film themselves through individual choreographed performances. Through the platforms of social media, I connected to global performers who shared my sense of isolation. Filmed through each performer's mobile lens, artists took control of their own personal stories. In this moving image, the dancers become trapped in a time loop. The time loop was inspired by the Pandemic warping our sense of time.
The series ‘The space between us’ is a collection of stills on a study on time, motion and our emotional relationship to the scale of the universe. As we move from isolation back to our communities, countryside and our urban spaces; together we are able to celebrate our new relationship to time and also acknowledge that time itself is a precious force. Together we can build new ways of seeing, dancing and breathing together. As we enter the new digital decades working remotely offers all creatives the ability to build a sustainable future and this project is a reminder of all that is possible in 2021.
What’s an aspect of the fashion industry that you’re passionate about fixing or having a positive impact on?
I’ve learnt through creating the incredible importance of collaboration as this leads to a community celebrating inclusiveness, diversity, creativity and a vision. Artists are all storytellers and I want to use my voice and other voices to create work I’m passionate about or can create an impact.
Now that you have finished your degree, what's your plan?
I would love the opportunity to gain some industry experience in film and photography. I will continue creating new projects and hope to collaborate with more people!