I am fascinated by contradictions, contrasts, interruptions, and disorderly order. In the Interwoven project, which I developed over a period of few years and have not completely exhausted yet, while obeying certain formalist concerns through elements such as color, line and texture, I disrupt formal harmony with a gestural approach.
The “Interwoven 1” attempts to link the modern to the traditional in a composition that recalls Mondrian’s primary colors with black and white work juxtaposed with the traditional handicraft of nomadic peoples. Using natural pigments over a gesso and sand structure, entwined with African mud-cloths, “Interwoven 4” echoes not only the colors of Africa but also its textures. The addition of a traditional Japanese hand-dyed textile gives “Interwoven 5” a further meaning of interlaced cultures. I am weaving my personal culture, of art, artistic expression and life experience, with those of other cultures which have had an impact on my life. The Gutra’s texture is the protagonist in “Interwoven 2”, where I decided to paint over the textile and not only interweave it with stripes of color, both matt and glossy. The texture of the textile strongly contributes to the overall final appearance of the artwork.
The use of interwoven bands of colors still resurfaces in some of my other projects.