This series was initiated in 2016 after discovering a few hundred discarded sewing machines in a land fill site. It documents almost 300 of a total of 322 sewing machines salvaged from two separate locations. These found machines became the catalyst for the Skipticism project (S.Fredericks, P.J.Gregg and D.Pasilan), a large scale art installation.
The domestic sewing machine was once essential for resourceful living. It held importance of place in the family home. Much more than just an appliance; they were tools requiring skill sets that empowered creators, makers and repairers, skills that were transferred from one generation to the next. A quality machine was something that once had heritage. Iconic brands built their reputations around durability and service.
Today cheap outsourced manufacturing and rapid fashion cycles have demoted the domestic sewing machine, with it falling victim to the lowest price point economics. No longer viable to repair they are designed to be discarded.
These sewing machines were all photographed in the same condition that they were retrieved. Images composed for the outgoing product catalogue.
The end of the “Beautiful Machines”. Featured in BETA - Developments in Photography #24 Magazine in 2017Feature Folio - Scott Fredericks - Beautiful Machines