Can you start by providing an overview of your practice and background?

I come from the Czech Republic. I have been in contact with art since I was a child. Originally I studied shoe design, where I learned to work with materials and crafts. Later I went to the Academy of Applied Arts and Design, Architecture in Prague in the field of intermedia.

It has been very influential, during my studies I could try different approaches and experiment with media. Gradually, I became most comfortable with textiles and with a needle in my hand. I create textile objects and often combine them with other media. 

After finishing my studies I lived in London for some time, now I live and work in my studio on the island of Madeira. This island, surrounded by the ocean, plays an important role in my work. 

In your statement, you mentioned, that your work explores the idea of the “world as an interconnected, non-hierarchical network.”Can you elaborate on this line of exploration and how you represent it in your artistic practice?

The network I'm talking about is the connection between everything on our planet and the connection to nature. I have also addressed this issue from the point of view of religious approaches. 

Formally, I depict this theme using threads and fabrics that are themselves nets and fibres.

A couple of years ago we visited the Kogi tribe in Colombia. I witnessed the art of fabric making. The Kogi believe the woman is the one who extends the bloodline and is therefore entrusted with the task of weaving and sewing. And they believe that everything is connected. Although it may seem heteronormative, I was very inspired by this reality at the time. So I got more involved with textiles and started weaving material and using fabric scraps and clothing. This gave rise to my own language of creation, which I am developing further and thematizing other topics related to human existence on Earth.

In terms of the materials you use, how do you select the recycled textile materials you use in your sculptures, and what significance do these materials hold for you?

I often use fabric scraps, often cotton, but also curtains or leather, for example. Each piece of fabric lends itself to something different and works in different contexts. I choose the colour combinations as I do when designing and I also think about the place where the object needs to be displayed.

Can you discuss the relationship between your sculptural objects and the other media you incorporate, such as sound or photography? How do they enhance the overall experience of your work?

The media I work with are textile, text, photography and singing. Photography in my work is a kind of a look into another situation, a memory and a return in time. I often do small performances with my textile objects and thanks to photography I can capture them. I then place the resulting photographs in a different context. 

Fabric is the key medium of my work. It symbolizes the structure in which we live.

That's why both photographs, paintings and texts are somehow made of or contain textiles.

In the case of sound, I used to sing my own lyrics, the medium of the sound of the song allowed me to subjectively grasp the theme of spirituality.

How does nature inspire your artistic concepts, and are there particular aspects of the natural world that resonate most with you? 

I travel a lot and I am instinctively interested in things that are around me or that just come along. As I mentioned I have been interested in the theme of water and its potential and symbolism for a long time. Living on an island and daily encounters with the ocean that isolates the island from the rest of the mainland make me think about isolation, connectedness and the differences between these worlds. I think of water as a life-giving fluid but also as a means of healing and connection. I focused more on theory and started to explore the theme of water more and it has been permeating my work ever since. Each water state has its own language and this is what interests me in the context of my sculptures. This also led me to encounter the monumental glaciers in Argentina.

You mention questioning our past, present, and future through your art. Can you share an example of a work that embodies this exploration?

This was a theme I explored a lot when making work for my solo exhibition The Well in London for 1B Window Gallery. I played with the symbolism of the well as a portal of time travel and water, which symbolizes oblivion and death. In collaboration with photographers, I captured the existence of sculptures in the sea and the lake. I combined these photos with textiles and text. Through which I stimulate a reflection on what was, is and will be.

What challenges have you faced while creating monumental scales or abstract shapes, often culminating in spatial installations, and how have you overcome them?

Every object I make takes a lot of time and requires special care because I have to make my material first and then assemble it together, sometimes making a construction. The objects are often heavy and it is difficult to transport them and then display them so that they last. Textiles are also sensitive to dirt. So they must be handled with care. I often climb ladders and sometimes I have to stand with my bare feet in an icy river and it hurts. But this performative overlap is important to me. It's part of my job.

What can you tell us about the submitted artwork called “Let Go on Everything”? Can you delve into the creative process behind it and the material used? 

It was a performance in Český Krumlov at the Egon Schiele Art Centre. The river in which the object is depicted was another water source for my artistic research. I made an object out of curtains and wire, and with my bare feet, I stepped into the river with the object and captured photographically how the river changed the object and played with it. During the performance, a dead butterfly swam in and got caught in the sculpture. It was a beautiful moment.

Art plays different roles in the structure of contemporary society. How do you see your role in promoting environmental awareness and sustainable practices through your art? 

In my work, I often deal with both the existence of our planet and its demise. So we have only limited power and possibilities, and even though we think we are growing as humanity in some ways, we are also forgetting and losing something that is our own. Connectedness to nature. And it is this intimate contact with nature that can be healing and through which we can cultivate collective empathy and consideration for others and the planet.

Find more about the artist on her website and Instagram.

Cover image:

Esse by Tereza Sýkorová. Image courtesy of Maria Luis Gonçalves.