sasha smardak.
“BALL N CHAIN” is a piece that I strongly resonate with.
This piece connects the world of fine art and craft.
While these two things do not generally go together, in my mind they can coincide.
Fine art is seen as something so outlined with practice and standard but to me, they work together.
I use crochet techniques to make large-scale works of sculpture.
I appreciate the collaboration a hard material can have with a flexible, soft material like yarn or fabric.
“BALL N CHAIN” is my way of mixing the two.
A generally structured item such as a chain is seen but it is constructed out of yarn.
Making the work out of yarn inflicts the piece with an approachable medium.
This piece is representative of the fast fashion industry and the workers within the facilities.
This work is made entirely out of t-shirts from the thrift store.
These t-shirts would have ended up in a landfill, which the fast fashion industry contributes to heavily.
In all of my practice, I source my materials sustainably and this project is no different.
I dislike waste and am very conscious of my carbon emissions.
The fast fashion industry is the largest polluter of landfills and their workers are underpaid and treated poorly.
This work represents a tired fast fashion worker who’s work consumes them.
“WORKER” used 78 t-shirts—destined for a landfill.
“MOM” is a work of art relating to grief and loss.
The dark-colored button is representative of a figure who has passed on, and the neutral, wooden spool is dedicated to a human still on earth.
The two elements are attached by a red, crocheted line—mimicking a blood vessel and keeping the items bonded, even when they are not together.
