bumkunst

švalje – Three Sisters

Tryptich, oil on canvas, Three Sisters

Three Sisters

This triptych presents three vertically aligned surfaces organized around differing states of incision and preservation. The outer panels contain stitched cuts whose dark interiors remain visibly marked by intervention, while the central panel retains an uninterrupted opening, narrow and luminous, untouched by surgical closure.

Within the context of Švalje (The Seamstresses), the work introduces a protective relational structure. The two altered surfaces appear to flank and guard the central form, producing the impression that damage has been absorbed collectively in order to preserve one body from repetition.

The triptych format further invokes the visual authority of religious painting, transforming the three figures into a restrained devotional arrangement. Yet the sacred element here is not transcendence, but protection against violation.

The untouched surface does not signify purity.
It signifies survival made possible by others.

detail
work in progress
work in progress
work in progress
Three Sisters in Berliner
Three Sisters in Berliner
Three Sisters in Berliner
Jugoшped
Three Sisters

Dimensions: (165 x 36 cm) x3
Year: 2021
Oil on canvas, waxed thread
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.