Story
New Life to Old Things
While most normal people throw their household junk in the recycle bin, Swedish artist Ulla-Stina Wikander considers these items the heart of her artwork. Wikander masterfully gives these items a new life by layering them with colorful, vintage embroidery, transforming them into artworks.
How did this all begin? While Wikander started collecting cross-stitch embroideries 20 years ago, she never anticipated that she would start to use them as sparks for her work. One day, she launched an experiment by covering her broken vacuum cleaner in embroidery. She quickly noticed something interesting in the transformation – she could bring these items back to life! Ever since her vacuum experiment, she has not painted or sculpted, instead sticking to her trade of recycling and transforming old items.
“I tell stories in my installations. It is often about an absent person, usually a woman. She may have disappeared a long time ago, or maybe just gone out for a coffee. ”
Click here for a bonus video to see Wikander at work.
