Installation on the theme “animalistic” at the Hamburg Chamber of Trades (Handwerkskammer) 2013

I embroidered words of wisdom in black thread on ten pieces of old underwear in beige, pink and white.

The individual pieces, which were sewn together with invisible thread to form a hanging installation, made an impression of lightness and seemed to fly together in the space. As the first layer of clothing on the skin, underwear stands for the intimate and private parts of people’s bodies. The pieces chosen for this installation can be taken as erotic or not.

The spectators can take the words and try them on for size, so to speak, or leave them. However, if you apply the wisdom to yourself, it might be able to improve the quality of your life, maybe even of your sex life (“Do one thing at a time,” Smile,” “Be calm,” “Accept change as inevitable,” “Know the problem, “Accept mistakes”, etc.).

The installation “how to live better” plays on the contrast between immediate erotic and animal desires aroused by intimate clothing and the embroidered words-to-the-wise that make the beholder more conscious and thoughtful.

Whatever feelings prevail in the beholder—whether amusement, curiosity, shame or reflection—it is difficult not to chuckle at this unexpected juxtaposition.

Materials: old clothing, embroidery thread