Duo Exhibition, Maja Stjärna & Paula Elion, Detroit Stockholm, October 2023
We come from different generations and different parts of the world, but are connected through our interest in home textiles, and their relationship to family and heritage. In our conversations we have found that we both are interested in working with subjects connected to the roles we play as humans in society, especially roles assigned to women, and the expectations and pressures to fulfill these roles. What happens when someone refuses or rejects these set models? Motherhood, beauty, transitions of the body and aging are themes that are relevant to both of us in our practices.
Used home textiles, such as inherited tablecloths, bed sheets, kitchen towels etc, are our materials. The materials themselves are connected to the idea of outside expectation and pressure, as women before us have been expected to make all these home textiles, investing lots of time and energy into it, in order to be a good wife/ mother/ woman. The used textiles show traces of use, damage, holes, stains, as our faces and bodies show the traces of our lives and age. Wrinkles on fabrics, wrinkles on faces. Every stain counts and carries past memories. Every piece of cloth presents layers of meaning. The past and the present collide when a new image appears on the surface.
This exhibition is part of Stockholm Craft Week.
The exhibition is arranged with the support of the National Association of Swedish Art Associations / Riksförbundet Sveriges Konstföreningar and Kulturrådet.