natural dyes
I have started researching and experimenting with natural dyes, mainly plant-based dyes that I can produce with plants and berries found in my generous backyard. Cold, hot or solar.
I have started researching and experimenting with natural dyes, mainly plant-based dyes that I can produce with plants and berries found in my generous backyard. Cold, hot or solar.
visible
I have been collecting clothes from friends, family and my previous exhibitions visitors. These clothes are the matrices for my monoprints on fabric.
Most of the clothes have a story, they were worn for a long time, the person who owned the clothes had an emotional attachment to it, they only used them in special occasions, etc.
invisible
I believe that what I transfer to the substrate (a piece of fabric, a reclaimed sheet) is not only the material image but also part of the memory|energy of the clothes and their owners|users.
Our bodies, like pieces of clothes come in different fashions, colors, patterns, but the invisible part of our beings are made of the same common raw material and manifests itself through our positive or negative actions.
As it is invisible, we may not notice it at first glance, but if we take the time to focus on a conversation, a story, actions|behaviors we may start seeing the character of a body. The same way, if you allow yourself to seethe invisible part of my works you may picture the memories, the stories, the spirit of what was just a piece of clothing.
videos: Printosynthesis - Ely Urbanski
contemporary anonymous man history
prints on fabric (sumi or bleach)
In Japan without my own art studio or access to a collective one, I started to rethink my production methods. First, I started making some human outline drawings. I asked people to pose for me, and trace them.
This way of working, although interesting because of the interaction between artist and model, brought up another issue, the dependence of the availability of a model. It was then that I substitute the human model for a piece of clothing and returned to printmaking. I had to invent my own way of printing my work. I started soaking the clothing in ink or bleach using fabric instead of paper, and using my own weight as a means of pressing.
I have chosen to use clothes because they are icons of human beings. I used old clothes, and I believe the age marks on the clothing can be transferred to the final image. In this sense I have been trying to print memories in the attempt to register “contemporary anonymous man history”.
In the beginning I just took the piece of clothing the way it was and printed. In other series of works I have undone the sewn parts of the clothes to form new shapes. You can still recognize them as clothing but the resemblance is not obvious. I think this series of works reminds us of the way our brain processes memories; you can remember parts and details of an event but not the whole event perfectly.
*more photos: flickr ely-photos
patterns
monoprints on paper and on fabric
I started to work with old sewing patterns in 2015. I've printed on paper and on fabric and I may add some sewing too. I have been thinking about the patterns we create in our lives and how they are only products of our beliefs. Quantum physics, epigenetics, brain studies and other developments in science show us how mistaken can be a life based on old patterns. How to break these patterns and keep the positive ones?
sewn memories
prints on fabric, painting/drawing and sewing
In 1996 I created a set of works using São Paulo’s subway system as the main subject. The following year I decided to expand this commuting idea into longer trips. Instead of printing on paper I started to print on fabric and add sewing, buttons, subway tickets and hand written letters from friends. An attempt to merge trip memories and experiences into the prints.
*more photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ely-photos/albums/72157652495106884
sewn memories
prints on fabric, painting/drawing and sewing
In 1996 I created a set of works using São Paulo’s subway system as the main subject. The following year I decided to expand this commuting idea into longer trips. Instead of printing on paper I started to print on fabric and add sewing, buttons, subway tickets and hand written letters from friends. An attempt to merge trip memories and experiences into the prints.
*more photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ely-photos/albums/72157652495106884
subway
woodblock and metal prints (etching, drypoint, mezzotint) on paper.
This set of works has São Paulo’s subways system as the main subject. It depicts details of stations and train cars although not in a figurative way. Starting from the actual physical places it suggests a reflection on the passengers’ psychological state of mind while commuting to work or school.
*more photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/ely-photos/albums/72157603874747844
