bumkunst

Švalje – Queen Bee

Švalje (The Seamstresses) Queen Bee

Queen Bee

The central incision interrupts an intensely saturated field, balancing between ornament and injury. Gold leaf placed within the cut transforms the wound into a precious surface, complicating the distinction between damage and veneration.

The title introduces a paradoxical figure of feminine authority: desired, elevated, symbolically protected, yet simultaneously subjected to systems of control directed at the body itself.

The work proposes that what a culture chooses to decorate often reveals what it is unable to accept naturally.

work in progress
work in progress

Dimensions: 100 x 70 cm
Year: 2020
Oil on canvas, golden leaf, red thread,staple gun ammunition

Švalje (The Seamstresses)

This series emerged after reading accounts of female genital mutilation and other forms of ritualized control over women’s bodies. The works transform the painted surface into a site of incision and repair: the canvas is cut with a scalpel and subsequently sewn, producing forms that oscillate between wound, symbol, and anatomical suggestion.

Although visually minimal, the interventions refer to historical and ongoing practices in which pleasure, autonomy, and bodily integrity are subjected to cultural, religious, or social regulation.

The stitch functions ambiguously throughout the series. It may indicate healing, concealment, restraint, or survival. The image remains suspended between violence and restoration.