Maria Minkova at Credo Bonum
Within the exhibition “Interweavings,” Maria Minkova makes use of algorithmically generated information gadgets to translate world occasions right into a collection of woven mixed-media works. The house of the gallery represents a full week, with a single large-format weaving standing in for every of the seven days. Inside the black frames, bright-colored yarn intertwines with disparate supplies: movie tape, steel chains, even human hair. To supply the collection, Minkova first “fed” herself a variety of headlines primarily based on a script coded in Python. Then the artist took these real-world occasions, transmitted via digital media platforms and chosen by code, and reintroduced them into the bodily sphere within the type of symbolic collages. Not like Penelope, who wove to obscure the passage of time, Minkova weaves to demarcate it.
By styling herself as a type of “weaving-robot,” Minkova could relinquish management of her material to an algorithm, however the aesthetic execution of the works stays totally her personal. In 10.04.22 (all works 2022)—whose headlines tracked Boris Johnson’s go to to Kiev, Maryland’s growth of abortion entry, and a homicide in Texas—giant clear blue strips dominate the body at a diagonal. One jaunty yellow loop hangs within the higher proper nook, whereas others fill out the underside rows. In 09.04.22—Idaho’s supreme courtroom blocks an abortion restriction regulation, world meals worth rise, Will Smith responds to the Oscars ban— alternating shimmering gold bands and rows of mirrorlike materials are topped with a bronze oval tightly constructed from celluloid strips. The composition suggests a brown head and a gilded physique separated on the neck by a skinny yellow-and-blue line. It appears the battle in Ukraine is current even when it’s not the visible emphasis.
— Ashira Morris
