Welcome to the Cutting (& Stitching) Edge, where we showcase people whose embroidered creativity is fresh and new!
Bárbara Salazar is an embroidery artist from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
“My pieces evoke the magical side of life forms. I want to transform that idea into an embroidery. From matter that floats light years ago over our head to a tiny creature in the deep sea. I like to create something that look like a mineral or a sea being but actually it’s both things. Something that could be water and the sky at the same time.
“I like to work with different types of beads and sequins, that allows me to create high-relief. I also work with metallic and holographic papers and with the reflection of light when it meets the translucent beads. I like the idea of creating a sense of movement from something static. With threads I specially enjoy working with tiny stitches to make patterns that ends up looking like a microscopic vision of these little worlds I create.”
Bárbara’s background is in fashion embroidery and her work is an evolution away from this arena into something more organic. The use of beads and sequins retain the connection with her roots, but she applies them in new ways to create depth and perspective within a relative flat space.
Bárbara’s pieces are abstract yet there is a familiarity in the work – we could be looking at scientific samples or images from an interstellar perspective, rather than embroidered art. It reinforces the way that nature repeats patterns on a grand and tiny scale, and that we should remain in fascination of the world that we are a part of.
I’m always pleased to see when artists use beads to push at boundaries. I’ll be interested to see where Bárbara’s journey takes her. For now you can enjoy her existing body of work at her website.
