Mally Elbaz Almandine
Land scape
CONTEMPORARY ART REVIEW
cultural substratum inform the way you relate yourself to the aesthetic problem in general?
My cultural infrastructure is the source of all the ideas and imagery in my work today. This cultural heritage, to which I was exposed from early childhood, is a part of my DNA. I absorbed socialization process values, codes of behavior, stories and moods. These tens of thousands of days have become a part of my repertoire of personality. In Yemen, the craft of embroidery was passed from generation to generation. My father learned this craft from his father, and my father taught me. This craft is characterized by using bold shapes and colors, according to a certain pattern that repeats itself. Today, in my paintings, I try to recapture the art of embroidery so that the painting is made up of small forms that are interwoven into one complete image. Throughput the creative process, I feel a high sense of closeness and love to its resources and this in fact increases the cultural heritage on which I grew up into. In doing so, I tell the story of my family, origin, tradition and culture. This is akin to writing a life story, through colored lines, shapes, spots and images.