Imperfection I is a collection of almost 200,000 pearls embroidered onto a silk fabric. Seen from far away, the piece looks as if it could be a collection of precipitous clouds, with occasional breaks or perhaps even a murmuration of birds on a white sky; when viewed from up close, though, we see individual beads, carefully stitched on by hand. Did you have a specific image or landscape in mind when making this piece?
I don’t usually have any specific image in mind when I start an artwork. I find it more interesting to create these shapes and images using the core characteristics of each material – what I see as a type of nature – as well as allowing my hands to move in an unconstrained way, only controlled by my subconscious mind. There are times when I don’t see the result as I do not work directly with the final image; rather, I embroider on the backside of the work. I simply work my way through the textile using touch and incorporate the materials under the canvas as I embroider.
Conceptually, the mental landscape is created by the different layers of memory that are always in constant change, which lose details and become intertwined with each other. I capture time in the form of abstract spots, making the hours take on a physical and material aspect. I see this as an expression of the uncontrollable nature of memories