Fabric of Soccer
‘I am a soccer fan, and I wanted to tell people about the sport by showing the joy, pain, and passion of its protagonists – the players, the trainers, the umpires, and ultimately the fans. Today, we perceive many players and coaches as modern-day heroes. In the same way as princes, knights, and mercenaries were the subject of art in antiquity, in ‘The Fabric of Soccer’, I wanted to represent the feats of these heroes.
Soccer cuts across social and economic barriers while following an almost ritualistic script ‘written’ in an easily decodable language, which makes it appealing to both young and old of all nationalities.
‘The Fabric of Soccer’ is made up of scenes; each of which catches the protagonists in a decisive moment of their career and life: a player being sent off by the referee, another being carried out on a stretcher, another still doing a celebratory dance after scoring. Some scenes take place outside the pitch: in a television studio, or in a crowded bar, or even on a private jet. However, they all revolve around playing and living soccer.
Soccer is a baroque world, rich in colour and symbols, which is made of fabric – that of its jerseys, shorts, flags, and banners. I recycled threadbare sheets, torn tablecloths, and all sorts of old fabrics to describe this universe.
Any artistic representation of soccer cannot help but be a mirror of the society we live in, reflecting the latter’s follies, truths, and limits. I stitched together my mirror from the scraps of fabric that anyone may throw away every day. I hope it can mean something to everybody, even to those who don’t know football or never cared for it.’
Soccer cuts across social and economic barriers while following an almost ritualistic script ‘written’ in an easily decodable language, which makes it appealing to both young and old of all nationalities.
‘The Fabric of Soccer’ is made up of scenes; each of which catches the protagonists in a decisive moment of their career and life: a player being sent off by the referee, another being carried out on a stretcher, another still doing a celebratory dance after scoring. Some scenes take place outside the pitch: in a television studio, or in a crowded bar, or even on a private jet. However, they all revolve around playing and living soccer.
Soccer is a baroque world, rich in colour and symbols, which is made of fabric – that of its jerseys, shorts, flags, and banners. I recycled threadbare sheets, torn tablecloths, and all sorts of old fabrics to describe this universe.
Any artistic representation of soccer cannot help but be a mirror of the society we live in, reflecting the latter’s follies, truths, and limits. I stitched together my mirror from the scraps of fabric that anyone may throw away every day. I hope it can mean something to everybody, even to those who don’t know football or never cared for it.’
2016
Three Five Three
Embroidery on mixed fabrics ( 210 x 105 cm )
Soccer is simple, but it is difficult to play simple." Johan Cruijff
Three Five Three
Embroidery on mixed fabrics ( 210 x 105 cm )
Soccer is simple, but it is difficult to play simple." Johan Cruijff
