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Cloth & Culture NOW
the artists - Laima Orzekauskiene, Lithuania
The most important issues for me in my
work are the traditions and signs that can be seen in everyday
life. At first glance, even casual, every-day tasks, motifs,
and people going about their everyday lives provide me with ideas.
One example of such an everyday task is darning. One moment from
my life will stay with me forever –– the
day following the death of my mother I found some unfinished darning –– a
traditional white sock of homemade yarn. The image of my mother
before her death was already fading, so darning was more like an
abstract textile miniature. I see darning as a traditional ritual
expressed in the form of textiles. That white sock with its darning
incomplete was something that remained of my mother, and it has
become both a system full of traditional significance as well as
an entire field for my creativity.
Technically and visually, my works are based on traditional techniques
and old Lithuanian stripe motifs (traditional Lithuanian stripes
are accessories to our national costumes). They represent ancient
weaving techniques where the main objective was to emphasize the
texture and contrasting colours in the stripe motifs. The techniques
and the symbols are the main attributes of these archaic forms.
I bring my ideas to life by integrating the narrative of our historical
heritage into modern digital technologies. The method I use is
weaving, which I see as a traditional ritual. I also apportion
a lot of significance to this process.
I am interested in ancient cultural images
and at the same time consider the trans-cultural context. I would
like to define the impact or influence of other cultures using
a “breath-in
and breath-out” metaphor without prescribing how the work
will reveal itself. I believe that on the basis of my personal “breath-in
and breath-out” experience, the influences of other cultures
also exist in a parallel manner –– as a condition for
perception and comment within the work.
To a greater or lesser extent, the influence of other cultures
is reflected in a relatively large percentage of modern Lithuanian
textiles.
By following the experience of local culture, I seek for universal
meaning. By studying a specific Northern cultural area, I find many
trans-cultural parallels in the world of textiles.
LITHUANIA
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