Matrice

Garden (Bašča), 2021
3 embroideries and a sound recording

I recall the long afternoons that I spent in the Slavonian garden (bašča) after school, in the garden of Grandmother Mara, watching her hands pull out the weeds while playing carelessly on the muddy ground and eating freshly plucked green onion.
I go back there, to a place where everything grew, and I study that piece of land, almost scientifically, recording every detail. I go through the family archives, I go through the old photographs of the garden, I analyse them, I sketch the floor plan and every little bit of it. Through sound, image and word, I collect all experiences and reminiscences, and through a soft embroidery and warm wool threads, I revive my sanctuary, the garden.
I use carpeting tools and tapestry techniques, evoking the symbolic meaning of Persian rugs, an ancient tradition whose frequent motif was the Garden of Eden.