sturmhauben
handtufted wool, 63 x 53 cm, 2021
The three “balaclavas” were created in the course of my solo exhibition spring water tastes funny in the KVJ.
I took its shape from a pattern for a well-known headgear, the balaclava, which only leaves the eyes uncovered. If the “balaclavas” weren't caught in their current state and if they weren't reinforced with wood on the back, they could be further processed into woolen masks that enclose the entire head.
A hesitation, a persistence is inscribed in the constitution of the form. The painterly elements that cover the “balaclavas” trace different possible faces: traits that have not yet been reflected in a specific form. The human face becomes inhuman, showing the swirling movements underneath where we become something else. They show us that the natural world does not wait outside of us, but rather moves through the door of our being and connects and reforms what we are.
