TEXTILES 1ST PLACE WINNER

I created this piece because I was deeply moved by the protests regarding religious head coverings in Iran. Head and neck coverings have been used throughout history as markers of beauty, status, belonging, and freedom—but also as symbols of oppression. In this piece, I aimed to blend these symbols: religion, the hope for freedom, the anxiety of losing one’s identity, and the courage and despair of unraveling the marker. The head and neck decoration is inspired by the early Renaissance ruff collars, combined with the design of the collar worn by priests in the Danish church today. The piece is constructed as a sewn collage of chocolate wrappers, books, paper, fabric, leather, 24 carat gold paper and I mounted it between two museum glass sheets. I quilted the entire golden ruff, giving the work a 3D effect. I wish I could include more photos to fully capture this effect—it changes depending on the light source and the angle from which the viewer observes it. Additionally, the piece interacts with the shadows on the wall, as the collage is mounted about 4 centimeters away from the back wall. If you look closely, you will notice many hidden details throughout the piece—small stories, faces as tiny as 1 cm, that subtly emerge within the image. This is part of the joy and love I find in creating collages: discovering amusing symbols, strange faces, and parallel stories or texts that reveal themselves upon closer inspection. The face in the portrait is inspired by my childhood friend, Kirstine.