Royal Ontario Museum Presents: Noelle Hamlyn: Lifers

Explore the impact of textiles and fashion on the planet’s water quality — and what we can do about it — in a powerful, new, ROM-organized art installation by Canadian visual artist, Noelle Hamlyn.

Over twenty repurposed and retailored life jackets, hand-crafted by the artist from reclaimed and discarded garments, present a striking visual metaphor to draw attention to the current environmental crisis in the textiles and fashion industries. Each life jacket (or “lifer”) tells a unique story, encouraging us to take a closer look at our own fashion consumption behaviours, and how they have the power to affect the health of water resources worldwide.

Stunning, large-format photography by Canadian photographer, Geoff Coombs, accompanies the installation, creating an immersive experience that pulls us into the narrative as we consider our legacy of clothing consumption and our ongoing relationship with the fashion industry.

Noelle Hamlyn: Lifers opens a complex and important conversation about climate change, and how fast fashion and rampant overconsumption are accelerating the crisis with each new season.