Małgorzata Mirga-Tas utilizes textiles, needle and thread, and paint to represent Roma life and history through her art. Dubbed "fabric collages," her works consist of layered, repurposed materials that create complex narratives. Mirga-Tas considers these collages "microcarriers of history," with materials embodying personal histories. Her artwork focuses on the lives of Romani women and is inspired by photographs, including her own and those of family members. Mirga-Tas uses photography as a means to transcend stereotypes and assert the identity of the Roma community.
Her activism and art are as intertwined as the elements composing the work itself, which she has at times termed "fabric collages": layers of cut-up textiles organized into complex figurative compositions.
The materials, clothing, and curtains from which I sew portraits are meant to give them additional energy and power. . . . I can see life in them.
Mirga-Tas uses these materials to create collaged paintings that capture the everyday lives of Romani women in particular, inspired by her own photographs and those taken by friends and family.
Utilizing photographs is a strategy for naming, for asserting the presence and identity of Romani people.
Collection
[
|
...
]