My women’s legacy - Monika Cvitanović Zaper

The beginning of 2020 also saw the beginning of my final year of studies. While thinking of my practice so far, which I considered painterly, I realised as to how much textile as a material has been wrought under my skin. I grew up alongside a seamstress mother, surrounded by thread and textures, and alongside grandmothers who did handiwork and influenced the depth of my sensibility for fabrics. I began experimenting with stitching techniques on several pillowcases which my mum sent to me while in lockdown, and this practice has grown into my holistic

expression and a kind of method of tending to my own mental health. A conscious rejection of rules of stitching techniques is an expression of my critique of the patriarchal context, in which women traditionally learned and did handiwork; the intentional ‘sloppy’ and repetitive stitching serves as an exercise in presence in the present, with a focus on the creative process rather than on the finished product.

The works created throughout the entire year animate the women’s legacy that is remembered in my hands and memories, and symbolises the resistance and sustainability of my ancestresses, which helped me to find my expression, as well as to self- organise in the period of global anxiety and uncertainty.