Cyrilla Mozenter

Statement

CYRILLA MOZENTER

 

Artist Statement

 

I make large wall works and freestanding constructions with a relationship to language in which there is a tension between two and three dimensions. Each piece, while complete in itself, is also an aspect of a larger whole that is revealed in accumulation.

 

The objects and materials I use and the images, letters, words, and phrases that emerge are actors in an ever-evolving narrative. As a play uses actors in different roles, my “actors” play different parts without losing their own inherent meaning or individual identity.

 

I hand stitch industrial wool felt with silk thread and entomb objects such as hazelnuts and cuttlebones in thin strips of handmade paper in combination with wooden ice cream spoons, toothpicks, fish bowls, and books. I use letters and words that relate to basic sounds as well as words and phrases from Gertrude Stein. The phrase “warm snow” from Four Saints in Three Acts has become an organizing principle.

 

Putting stress on an edge with stitches causes felt to buckle, stretch, droop, and torque—adding unpredictability. The hand stitching is precise, measured, in contrast to the compressed chaos that is felt. My freestanding pieces are self-supporting. No armatures. No propping up. The stitched seams serve as exoskeletons, enabling each piece to be its own structure. In the felt wall pieces, shapes are cut out, then inlaid (stitched) into position not unlike marquetry. They are flags and banners, marking territory.

 

My drawings are an extension of the work I am doing with other materials rather than being preparatory. They are intended to stand on their own. Once I establish the physical arena, I work as directly and unhesitatingly as possible. Each drawing becomes its own adventure. I can't predict what the experience will be or what the evidence of that experience will look like, and in that sense the work is always ahead of me.