Object (military helmet, macramé), series of 5, 2022
The work remakes an object that was supposedly worn by soldiers in WWII; in order to camouflage in the snow, they covered their military caps with white macramés. A soft, domestic decoration was used to add an additional protective layer on their heads, and showed the absurdity of both their fight and of their fragility and unpreparedness in front of it. Macramé decorations are still present in our houses, with mostly women who created them as a pastime over the long winters, and often placed on different objects or pieces of furniture. Military outfits were until recently of little interest outside the occasional fashion trends. Bringing these two elements together now draws attention to the memory that hides the horrors of war, up to the point that it is today again glorified and performed. At the same time, the work is an invitation to convert the hard markers of violence into new objects, which underline life’s fragility.
