Confetti (2015)
Glazed ceramic
42 × 14.5 × 14.5 cm (2.2 kg)
BA Collection
Inventory No.: 310
During her stay at the BilbaoArte Foundation, Grabuschnigg explored the phenomenon of the Afghan war rugs and used them as a point of reference for a series of new sculptures. The artist is not interested in the story behind each specific rug. She examines them as an intriguing example of how the images ‘travel’ from one culture to another; transforming their form and their visual context, overcoming political frontiers, while constantly changing their meanings and contexts.
The symbols of war on the rugs have undergone a ‘change of identity’. From a serious reflection on current issues, they became a commercial product, sold by soldiers on eBay or mass produced by manufacturers worldwide. Grabuschnigg contributes to this existing ‘lost in translation’ by transforming those violent symbols of grenades and missiles into three-dimensional and bright sought-after items.
(Dina Yakerson (Tel Aviv) Extract from the ‘Cultural Tourism’ text, Cosmos Gallery, Bilbao, 2015).