Kimono Collection. Thilo Swora. Berlin 2020
Interview
Minimal.Ethic collaborated with the outstanding artist Miriam to create fabrics for the handmade kimono collection. She is well-known for her natural hand dyed and woodblock printed fabrics, as well as her hand poked tattoos.
Miriam said in a recent interview that she found herself and her determination in India.
India’s culture is among the oldest in the world. Miriam travelled there for the first time back in 2010. She said her intention was to find her own artistic expression.
She grew up in a family of artists who worked and experimented with different materials and forms of expression. Miriam herself worked with fabrics all her life and studied textile design.
Miriam. Handprinted and natural dyed wall hanging . 2018
However, due to the fact that everything was digital, she said she wanted to experience something different. She wanted to find a way to work that felt more natural and practical, so that she could have a deeper connection with her artistic self. She found just that while doing an exchange with the Indian culture, especially in the art of carving blocks of wood.
Woodblock printing most likely did not originate on the Indian subcontinent, but was rather picked up from the Chinese traders that traveled along the Silk Route. In India, it collided with the local aesthetics and knowledge of natural dyes, transforming itself and becoming part of the Indian culture. For centuries, master printers have been passing on the principles of the craft to their kin.
Miriam. India 2020
Year after year, Miriam gets smaller blocks from her master in India. He teaches her the art of carving wood with chisels and knives. During the process, she is creating intricate designs inspired by nature.
"Energy travels through things that are made with hands, the energy of the person doing it, and the energy of the plant with which the fabric is dyed." Miriam. Berlin 2020
Becoming a tattoo artist as well was never planned, she said. All of a sudden, it popped up and everything she did and had experienced before just came together. It was like something was waiting for her to combine all of the artistic elements. Tattooing gives her the wonderful experience of working with people.
Since Miriam started travelling to India, one part of the journey was now dedicated to fabrics and the other to tattooing.
In her recent collaboration with Diamante Murru and the creative Atelier in Berlin, she printed individual patterns for every kimono in the collection. It was a long and thoughtful process to pick the woodblocks and print them carefully on the delicate fabrics. Diamante gave her all of the freedom in her work to express and create the fabrics for 7 kimonos.
Thilo Swora. Berlin 2020
Regarding her cooperation with the creative Atelier, Minimal.Ethic, Miriam said, "some of the best works were created when creative talents came together to contribute their skills and create something unprecedented."
Instagram Woodblocktattoo
Instagram Woodblocktextiles
Interview with Miriam for Minimal.Ethic.
Berlin 2020