MELIFERA cloth

After declared a health pandemic in 2020, collateral effects begin to emerge.

Nature breathe easy without knowing that tons of new waste will soon arrive. Masks, gloves, gowns, and any other gadget put to use once. Human avoid contamination with a virus that he spread.

Air pollution stabilises in some periods thanks to the decline in industrial production. The birds sing and the silence on the public roads of the cities is set as evidence of fear and uncertainty.

We are talking about a species that shut itself up in its homes to cause other pandemics. For example, stay-at-home orders limit the spread of the virus but can result in a dangerous situation for women with violent partners.

According to UN data, 50 women die every week in Europe due to the gender violence virus. One of three women in the world suffers sexual or physical violence.

Violence against women and girls is a violation of human rights.

The Covid-19 pandemic is showing a higher mortality rate in men. However, the economic and social impact is greater in women.

The world suffers from segregation in education and work. Women are been excluded from technological advances and also from decision-making jobs.

Pandemic Rags Series

The series aims to revalue and decontextualize any narrative in which women fulfill imposed roles. The domestic space as the domain of women and embroidery as a feminine work come together to explode and claim a place of honor.

Indeed hand-embroidered Melífera tells us that, like bees, women and girls place great value on collective life. We are half of the world’s population, and must be active as full subjects.

Needlework as textile art is the technique used to express all kinds of dualities. Likewise:

inside/outside,
active/passive,
strength/weak,
domestic/fierce,
luxurious/frugal,
public/private,
tradition/modernity.

Besides, the kitchen towel as a canvas helps to decontextualize this feminine domain. Show that these historical roles undertake a sharp change of direction. Whole world has been shaking; the kitchen towel no longer fulfills its function.

The Melífera cloth is a unique piece.