MARIA EZCURRA

Textiles, mainly clothes, are central elements of my creative process. Through them, I explore—both individually and collaborate—the physical, emotional and cultural possibilities and restrictions of the body. Through garments I experience, expose, and learn from our relation with certain social codes, based on the idea that they reflect the prevailing ideologies of our society. Through my work, I look at the social implications that femininity has today in diverse contexts, along with my own beliefs and condition as a woman.

Textiles—and other sewing elements—are a fascinating sculptural material, with innumerable formal advantages and great interpretative strength. Clothes are strongly connected to dominant values through a normative fashion system. We all experience and read them symbolically, connecting individual knowledge with culturally produced ideas. Dress can be effectively used in art to address not only personal, but historical, political, cultural, and social issues, providing new and stimulating ways to undress some aspects of our circumstances that usually remain veiled.