Artwork made on linen cloth for agricultural use. "The series presented here is quite particular as it has been part of a cycle of paintings on the theme of nature for the last twenty years, combining painting and embroidery techniques. [...] Since the Arts and Crafts movement and avant-garde artists such as Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Sonia Delaunay, Annette Messager and Louise Bourgeois, to name but a few, textile art has established itself as an art form in its own right. These artists, most of them women, reinvented an ancient technique by enhancing and diverting it from traditional modes give it a completely new form of expression. [...] The medium is careful selection of original postal bags that hold together a historical, sentimental and social significance. Historically, for over 22 years most bags like the ones as seen exhibited here have disappeared from circulation all together and are now part of our cultural memory. Sentimentally, the bags were the only means of transporting our secrets. Carrying messages from heaven to hell via purgatory. Socially, since then our society has switched to new and increasingly sophisticated technologies where mail today is transformed into @ and no longer needs bags. After several months of demanding and high-precision work which consisted the needle to pierce through fabric that is stiff, recalcitrant, rigid, rough, dirty, damaged and often perforated these same bags were transformed into precious, delicate objects while silver and/or silk thread were added creating a shimmering quality to the fabric. The techniques used are embroidery, sewing, pigment, oil, pastels etc. These postal bags are transformed from utilitarian objects into precious objects where finesse and frailness are expressed." - Virginie Simon, official website "L'artista Virginie Simon, le cui opere sono ispirate anche alla campagna di Monte Romano, ritiene che l'incontro con l'artista Francesco Narduzzi sia stato uno dei momenti fondanti della sua creazione artistica. [...] L'ispirazione alla terra di Maremma e la grande attenzione alla scelta dei materiali, portano a queste opere un nuovo respiro sul mondo antico e rurale di questa regione. La materia primitiva diventa elegante attraverso i colori, l'aggiunta di mosaici etruschi e i fili d'argento ricamati su teli di lino centenari." - Virginie Simon-Valory, "Maremma terra nostra, a giugno la mostra deglia artisti Francesco Narduzzi e Virginie Simon"

Sitography:
SIMON-VALORY, Virginie, "Maremma terra nostra, a giugno la mostra deglia artisti Francesco Narduzzi e Virginie Simon", www.tusciaweb.eu, 27/03/23
www.tusciaweb.eu/2023/03/maremma-terra-nostra-giugno-la-mostra-degli-artisti-francesco-narduzzi-virginie-simon/

SIMON-VALORY, Virginie, "Virginie Simon Artbook. Bags", www.simon-art.com
www.simon-art.com/