Crystal Guts, 2023
reclaimed yarn, neon yarn
200 x 140 cm
200 x 140 cm
Drawing from the iconography of Tibetan prayer rugs, I create a personal interpretation of a votive-protective object. The work was sparked by an injury sustained while rock climbing, and the need for a form of spiritual mobilization during physical recovery. By invoking the cultural resonances of the world’s highest mountain range, I seek to form a symbolic alliance with the sages of the mountains. Formally, the piece is a free and slightly subversive reference to the ornamentation of khaden – rugs, whose decorative language is rooted in Buddhist symbolism, mythological guardian creatures, and elements of flora and fauna native to the Himalayan region. Crystal Guts is a local variation of a votive carpet. In the border of the rug, I replicate floral motifs from the polychrome of the Western Lemko church in Andrzejówka, located in the Beskid Sądecki region, from which I hail. The central Predator, with open entrails – highlighted with neon thread – becomes the incarnation of healing powers, with whichI seek to engage. The object created for the Wrong Answers Only exhibition (with Adrianna Gajdziszewska and Aleksandra Hurek) as part of the KRAKERS festival.
