Seek Refuge 8.1
2024
Chlorella and turmeric powders mixed with earth pigments and hand sewn cotton threads on cotton canvas.
8" x 10"
Who is a refugee? According to Amnesty International, a refugee is someone who has fled their home country because they are at risk of serious human rights violations and persecution. There are many reasons why people around the world want to rebuild their lives in a different country. Some people leave their homes to find work or study. Others are forced to flee persecution or human rights abuses such as torture. Millions of people flee armed conflict or other crises or violence. Some no longer feel safe and can be targeted simply because of who they are, what they do or what they believe in - for example, their ethnicity, religion, sexuality or political views. Refugees have the right to international protection.
Each canvas in this series depicts the places where refugees have to take shelter in the countries they fled. Earth pigments, natural dyers, and botanical inks on the works represent their homes, their lives, which they are trying to build from scratch with minimal means. You will see that each of the canvases has a section consciously cut out. Know that through these cuts, hope enters. The way the cuts are tied together with threads, slowly and patiently, symbolizes the new life they are trying to build with determination. By each stitch, they are laying the groundwork for the new life they are trying to build in a completely different country. Each stitch contains disappointments, losses, hopes, goals, dreams and so much more. When the cut in the void is knotted and completed, it is now ready to spread its roots in the land where it resides, to flourish and grow with hope.
For this series, I applied the concept of Wabi sabi, which include the principles of Nothing is perfect, Nothing is finished and Nothing lasts forever. I chose to stay away from symmetrical and balanced shapes on purpose and focused more on earthy materials such as natural dyers, earth pigments and botanical inks. As per the second principle, I accepted nothing is finished and nature develops indefinitely. Understanding and respecting the dynamic life cycle frees one's mind from all the unnecessary stress and chaos. At first I mix earth pigments with natural dyers and sometimes with botanical inks and let them dry. That thick layer of mixture starts to crack as it dries. You can sit there and just watch that dynamic earth materials conclude its cycle. Which leads us the last principle of nothing lasts forever. We only have here and now; therefore it's the wisest to value the beauty of the moment. What's more tranquil than calmly and patiently stitching naturally dyed cotton threads for hours.
We all have only one life to live. Instead of going against the flow where we will suffer, let's all live in harmony, both in times of peace and in times of stress and angst; after all everything is impermanent and nothing is perfect.
Free worldwide shipping.
2024
Chlorella and turmeric powders mixed with earth pigments and hand sewn cotton threads on cotton canvas.
8" x 10"
Who is a refugee? According to Amnesty International, a refugee is someone who has fled their home country because they are at risk of serious human rights violations and persecution. There are many reasons why people around the world want to rebuild their lives in a different country. Some people leave their homes to find work or study. Others are forced to flee persecution or human rights abuses such as torture. Millions of people flee armed conflict or other crises or violence. Some no longer feel safe and can be targeted simply because of who they are, what they do or what they believe in - for example, their ethnicity, religion, sexuality or political views. Refugees have the right to international protection.
Each canvas in this series depicts the places where refugees have to take shelter in the countries they fled. Earth pigments, natural dyers, and botanical inks on the works represent their homes, their lives, which they are trying to build from scratch with minimal means. You will see that each of the canvases has a section consciously cut out. Know that through these cuts, hope enters. The way the cuts are tied together with threads, slowly and patiently, symbolizes the new life they are trying to build with determination. By each stitch, they are laying the groundwork for the new life they are trying to build in a completely different country. Each stitch contains disappointments, losses, hopes, goals, dreams and so much more. When the cut in the void is knotted and completed, it is now ready to spread its roots in the land where it resides, to flourish and grow with hope.
For this series, I applied the concept of Wabi sabi, which include the principles of Nothing is perfect, Nothing is finished and Nothing lasts forever. I chose to stay away from symmetrical and balanced shapes on purpose and focused more on earthy materials such as natural dyers, earth pigments and botanical inks. As per the second principle, I accepted nothing is finished and nature develops indefinitely. Understanding and respecting the dynamic life cycle frees one's mind from all the unnecessary stress and chaos. At first I mix earth pigments with natural dyers and sometimes with botanical inks and let them dry. That thick layer of mixture starts to crack as it dries. You can sit there and just watch that dynamic earth materials conclude its cycle. Which leads us the last principle of nothing lasts forever. We only have here and now; therefore it's the wisest to value the beauty of the moment. What's more tranquil than calmly and patiently stitching naturally dyed cotton threads for hours.
We all have only one life to live. Instead of going against the flow where we will suffer, let's all live in harmony, both in times of peace and in times of stress and angst; after all everything is impermanent and nothing is perfect.
Free worldwide shipping.
2024
Chlorella and turmeric powders mixed with earth pigments and hand sewn cotton threads on cotton canvas.
8" x 10"
Who is a refugee? According to Amnesty International, a refugee is someone who has fled their home country because they are at risk of serious human rights violations and persecution. There are many reasons why people around the world want to rebuild their lives in a different country. Some people leave their homes to find work or study. Others are forced to flee persecution or human rights abuses such as torture. Millions of people flee armed conflict or other crises or violence. Some no longer feel safe and can be targeted simply because of who they are, what they do or what they believe in - for example, their ethnicity, religion, sexuality or political views. Refugees have the right to international protection.
Each canvas in this series depicts the places where refugees have to take shelter in the countries they fled. Earth pigments, natural dyers, and botanical inks on the works represent their homes, their lives, which they are trying to build from scratch with minimal means. You will see that each of the canvases has a section consciously cut out. Know that through these cuts, hope enters. The way the cuts are tied together with threads, slowly and patiently, symbolizes the new life they are trying to build with determination. By each stitch, they are laying the groundwork for the new life they are trying to build in a completely different country. Each stitch contains disappointments, losses, hopes, goals, dreams and so much more. When the cut in the void is knotted and completed, it is now ready to spread its roots in the land where it resides, to flourish and grow with hope.
For this series, I applied the concept of Wabi sabi, which include the principles of Nothing is perfect, Nothing is finished and Nothing lasts forever. I chose to stay away from symmetrical and balanced shapes on purpose and focused more on earthy materials such as natural dyers, earth pigments and botanical inks. As per the second principle, I accepted nothing is finished and nature develops indefinitely. Understanding and respecting the dynamic life cycle frees one's mind from all the unnecessary stress and chaos. At first I mix earth pigments with natural dyers and sometimes with botanical inks and let them dry. That thick layer of mixture starts to crack as it dries. You can sit there and just watch that dynamic earth materials conclude its cycle. Which leads us the last principle of nothing lasts forever. We only have here and now; therefore it's the wisest to value the beauty of the moment. What's more tranquil than calmly and patiently stitching naturally dyed cotton threads for hours.
We all have only one life to live. Instead of going against the flow where we will suffer, let's all live in harmony, both in times of peace and in times of stress and angst; after all everything is impermanent and nothing is perfect.
Free worldwide shipping.
