Synkroniciti is thrilled to welcome back Slovakian visual artist Radoslava (Radka) Mončeková Hrabovská with three fascinating textile artworks that focus on hands.
Purchase is a drawstring organza grocery bag for fruits and vegetables embroidered with a grasping hand. The soft transparent bag contrasts with the aggressive gesture of the hand. It’s an uncanny reality that survival requires the taking of other forms of life. The act of purchasing is an act of ownership, of taking the fruit of another being’s body, be it plant or otherwise, as a commodity needed for our sustenance. Fruits and vegetables also symbolize the fruits of our labors, the manifestation of our dreams. We get what we need by combining cooperation with assertiveness. The depth of this simple grocery bag is astounding as Radka wordlessly meditates on the primal side of human nature.
A Dream about a dream and Gift of gratitude involve hands which appear to stitch themselves, recalling M.C. Escher’s famous lithograph Drawing Hands, this time in textile form as hands protrude white-gloved from embroidery hoops. These are delightful, playful pieces which illustrate in 3D the joy of creating. A Dream about a dream consists of two pairs of hands and reminds us that textile art was often crafted by women working together as they talked, holding together and providing for their community. A hand stitching itself implies that creativity recreates the creator, changing us in ways that open our minds to more creativity. Gift of gratitude consists of a single pair of hands, one hand inside the embroidery hoop and one outside, stretching thread which is stitching the word “gratitude.” Radka shows us the conscious and subconscious parts of the mind working together to bring forth a sense of gratitude by creating.
In these three works we witness the incredible range of our subconscious mind, from the primal to the transcendent. Radka’s work transcends words and my meager description. You can view it in Synkroniciti’s “Dreams” issue, available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/. We paired the works with some enlightening quotes from M.C. Escher.
Radoslava (Radka) Mončeková Hrabovská is a Slovak visual artist working with a variety of materials. She lives in the small village of Bojničky, known for its wine. Often people from larger cities and countries think that her address is spelled wrong as Bojničky does not have street names. There are around 500 houses, including apartment buildings. It is this small village with a beautiful environment and a small number of houses that gives inspiration, love for nature and dreams to many. For Radka, inspiration from the environment is transformed into creation. Connecting the external and internal environments creates an interesting dialogue in images. And sometimes people in the world outside of Bojničky can hear this visual dialogue. Radka has already exhibited in various countries in America, Europe, and Asia.