WORDS ./?/! is a collection of text-based graphics for apparel trying to make sense of doomscrolling.
WORDS ./?/! - DEI edition > will be available for online purchase November 22nd 2025. DEI = Diversity, Equity, Inclusion.
Stay tuned through @studiophoria stories
*** DEI Word Shirt Video | DEI Words at NEW INC’s DEMO Festival
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DEI (Diversity Equity and Inclusion) related words have been flagged and replaced or entirely banned across federal agencies and departments as a result of a March 2025 executive order targeting DEI initiatives as a “divisive and corrosive ideology.”
According to this administration, this crackdown on DEI and the renaming actions of departments, military bases and geographical features are in the name of promoting “more positive views of American history.”
It has affected public facing documents, internal policies and hiring practices, foreign aid, cultural research and programming, monuments, scientific research, emergency shelters, education and health programs - resulting in words like depopulation trending and name changes such as that of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.
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Prior to covid, I placed words, information and what I described as ‘uneasy or difficult thoughts’ in the lining of the pockets and interior of MA-1 bomber jackets. My hope was that by keeping text on the exterior to a minimum, that viewers might be more intrigued to ask about the scientific images and infographics on the exterior.
Traditionally, the MA-1 bomber jacket has an army green exterior and neon orange interior, so that the jacket could be reversed and used as an SOS signal in case of a plane crash.
Covid was a plane crash.
These text-based graphics are probably best described as my form of knitting?
*** Entry work-in-progress. Last updated 2025-11-11