There are a lot of fiber artists out there whose works create a juxtaposition between the traditional and acceptable ‘feminine’ medium of embroidery and the macabre or sexual subjects they choose to depict, but Lorenzo Nanni takes this contrast to a whole new level. His ‘Specimens’ series here is made up of visceral fiber sculptures where blood-red beads glisten as if wet, and pinkish, yellowing fabrics seem moist and fleshy.
Nanni: ‘I want to provoke the person who is looking at my work to feel a mixture of repulsion and attraction. At first glance, the theme and appearance have the potential to push you away and create a feeling of unease but the reinterpretation by the textile and especially embroidery reassures aestheticians by its appearance, softening and tempering the violence, even generating a sense of attraction. This happens within the brain in seconds. My goal is to address the disturbing themes, work on things that could scare us or just things you do not want to see: blood, the inside of the body, insects, black, death’.
Nanni’s needlework skills are enviable; he occasionally works as a textile and embroidery designer for Christian Lacroix and Balmain, just to name a few…
Not only does he create amazing textile sculptures but he also paints, animates, and creates prosthetic jewellery with the same organic forms of his sculptures. Head to his website for more.
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