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By Stephanie Müller
 Rag
Treasure is my own small way of protesting against mass production.
I re-construct
almost everything I can find in garbage cans, on the streets,
at the bulky waste, at construction sites or at concerts: broken
guitar strings, damaged umbrellas or hygiene paper bags for used
tampons. By adding different kinds of recycled materials together
I alienate them from their original context and give them completely
new meaning.
Every single dress-collage I create is unique, I don’t make anything
in double in order to stress my distaste for mass produced goods. I focus on
creating dress-collages instead of sculptures or paper-collages. The advantage
of dress collages is that their mobility, when worn they enact as moveable
images.
I started Rag Treasure in
January 2004 as a melting pot for all my ideas, interests and
ideals. My dress or bag-collages are strongly related to “do
it yourself” ethics. I’ve never studied fashion and
I still sew most of my collages without any sewing machine. In
my opinion you don’t need to be a professional to survive
in society and everyone can do it her- or himself.
 I
also strongly identify with music, especially with angry grrrl music. Their
voices, lyrics and song titles are very often incorporated into my collages.
Most often, I measure the dresses on my own body and that’s why my
dress-collages are a very personal piece of art. I really appreciate this
personal touch, because you can’t find this in any fashion store.
In
addition, I’m continually searching for interesting projects dealing
with “do it yourself” culture and resistance against mass mediated
values. I love all kinds of activism and that’s why I’ve organized
a rag performance in public space in April 2004. At the moment I’m creating
a costume-collage for a feminist dance performance on the Inside Direction
of the Female Body.
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About Stephanie Müller
 I’m
a 24 year old DIY (do-it-yourself) arts and music addict. At
the age of 18 I left
Großkarolinenfeld, a small village in depths of Bavaria,
to study sociology, psychology and communications at the Institute
for Social Studies in Munich, Germany. I’m currently writing
my master’s thesis on Grrrl Zines as Speaking Tubes
for Marginalized Voices. I have established a regular
live radio show for international non-profit band and arts projects
at radio afkM94.5. I’ve been
working for the t-u-b-e, a gallery
for sound experiments and underground radio dramas. I started
Rag Treasure (www.ragtreasure.de) in
January 2004. My
latest works on the “Estrangement of Everyday Life’s
Images” were presented in the course of the Domagk
Days 2004 in Munich this summer.
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