1 shirt, 100 makers, designers and artists. Every week we have a new collab, showing you 100 ways to upcycle, repair or rewear a t-shirt. Turning it into a green & sustainable statement – this week it’s shirt #17!
For this shirt we are collaborating with an artist from Israel, Lital Dorchin. She creates Jinns on a shirt. The first time her shirts can look maybe a bit scary, and a little bit mystical, like a mask. They really make you want to know more about the story behind it. So we are happy she wanted to join our upcycle challenge and can’t wait to see what she made. But first, let’s read a little bit more about Jinn & Lital!
What is a Jinn?
JINN (genie) is a demon (Arabic), supernatural entity which can be either good or evil and was made of fire without smoke. The JINN on a T shirt receives its own place, light and air where it transforms from a haunting demon into a protective demon. (read the rest on de Jinn website)
How did you start with this idea?
I’m not sure how much to tell because it can be quite a long story. For a while I’ve been practicing belly dance and North African dance. There I got to see the ritual of a trance dance that is supposed to get your demons out of you. It’s also a part of my roots, as my mother is Tunisian. She was born in Tunisia, and growing up she told me about these kind of ceremonies. Which got me very interested in the demons and metaphor and transformative powers of the Jinn. (I usually talk about Jinn, not about demons. Because a Jinn in Arabic culture is either good or bad, and demons always have a bad reputation.) Especially the idea that you can take a piece of jewellery or clothing, perform a ritual on it to give it some kind of power. That’s what got me started drawing Jinns on T-shirts.
What does the Jinn mean on a t-shirt, does it protect you?
I don’t think there is a mystical power to the T shirt (or the jinns). I look at it more as a metaphor. More as an act of art. To accept and not to hide your demons. And I believe this is what protects you when you go out into the world. You’re unique. If you are willing to accept that there are parts of you that maybe don’t look so good, and that you not really proud off. That is the power, the power to accept yourself and hug your demons and not and control them.
What are your dreams and goals?
My dreams are to develop Jinn also on other things like coats or jackets. But what I like most is to see my art on other artists, like musicians or dancers. I did costumes for dance little dance show. That was very exciting for me. I would like to do that more, drawing on costumes for dance shows or for musicians that perform in theses close and find meaning in that. I would love to do an exhibition to show my work, on walls or on people in a performance. So I have a lot of ideas and dreams.
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Read more?
Do you wish to find out more about Lital and Jinn? You can read more in her FOR KEEPS profile. And you can off course check out the Instagram account of Jinn.