OLGA BURIAN-ZAGÓRSKA ART

About how I came to recycling art. Knots for memory

Working as an architect, you mainly deal with brutal materials. Despite the fact that I like my profession, sometimes I want to abstract. And since I have always been interested in textiles, this determined my activity.

Interest in patchwork comes from childhood, and the segregation of one’s own wardrobe regularly reveals a certain amount of clothing that is unlikely to be useful to anyone. Therefore, the choice of material and palette is simple – these are exclusively old, worn out things that only recycling awaits. I don’t use any technical devices. Each knot is tied by hand. Picking up a piece of clothing, I immediately see what it will be: a flower, a cityscape, or a sunrise over a lavender field. Or maybe an imitation of your favorite artists in a kind of rag performance. They capture my imagination. In this way, a pile of rags is transformed from ugly into something more pretty. For example, there is nothing beautiful in torn stockings. But in my compositions there are dozens of pairs. And they already look different. Old things start a new life. It is also important for me that my work makes the world around us a little cleaner and, I hope, more beautiful.

Sometimes I use very old clothes, miraculously preserved in the closet, which have no value as clothes, but are priceless for me personally as a memory. Like my grandmother’s blouse, or something related to the romantic stories of my youth. It can be difficult to throw them away. And here they are, in my nodular diary.

Once upon a time, people tied knots on handkerchiefs or belts so as not to forget something important. The ancient Incas wrote letters in this way. Gypsies created love nodular magic. And I invent my own stories, inspired by everyday life, traveling, getting to know people and cultures of different countries, and of course nature. These are my knots for memory…