Photosynthetic Jacket – Collaboration with Béatrice Dubreuil
Photosynthetic Jacket was created by Béatrice Dubreuil and Tricia Crivellaro during an art residency at École Buissonnière (Sentier Urbain) in Montréal. The site had recently been cleared of invasive blindweed by Sentier Urbain’s team—the removed plants were slated for composting. We chose to reclaim the so-called “waste” as the primary material for the piece, reimagining its potential through craft. Using wooden frames and sticks for support, we wove the jacket’s sleeves, a single back panel, and two front panels separately. Cotton thread served as the weft, while the blindweed vines acted as the warp. The panels were then hand-stitched together using the same cotton thread. The completed garment—Photosynthetic Jacket—was intentionally left to decompose in the garden of École Buissonnière. The project explores the ephemerality of organic matter through textile construction and challenges the conventions of garment durability and wearability. In this collaborative experiment, Béatrice and Tricia envisioned a jacket made entirely from blindweed—a living, transient form—designed to return to the earth.
Published in Needlebound 2, by editor Hayley Mortin, 2025. Details on Needlebound 2Artists: Tricia Crivellaro, Béatrice Dubreuil