Łódź: the practice of social interaction
Project 2022—2023
Since the full scale russian invasion in February 2022 Yasia went more into social interaction art practice that combines the cultural and socio-economic questions of the war migration with the criticism of the structure of the fashion industry. For her practice at the Central Museum of Textiles, she invited local residents from Łódź to join her project, who brought their own items, cut and combined them into new products. This cooperation with people who transfer their experience to textiles and make unexpected combinations breaks social and political roles raising the questions of refugee, decolonization, capitalist hierarchy and its alternatives. On the one hand, artist refers to the historical phenomenon of Nicolas Bourriaud's aesthetics of social interaction, and on the other hand, to her own experience related to industrial production, family tradition of second-hand and refugee experience. The main goal is the development of the NEW PRODUCTION idea, where volumes are a relative concept and all products are made as a voluntary creative impulse.
Kacper
I am 26 years old, I live in Łódź. I am a visual artist and office worker. Clothes make me happy, it can move and delight me. I've been trying not to buy new things for many years. Every day I try not to think too much about what my clothes express in terms of class or gender. It takes away the pleasure of putting them together. In the museum I left the remnants of things that I used in my art projects. They were lying in a box and waiting for their time. They found their time in the XOMEHKO project.
Tetiana
My name is Tatiana, I have been living in Poland for 12 years. I was born in Kyiv and I love my homeland, but I chose the life of an emigrant. I like to stand out and interesting styling helps me to do it. I am not talking about shocking or "flashy" clothes, but about taste combined with individualism. I also have a sentimental attachment to many things. My favorite clothes are usually the cheapest things bought on sale. The "look" always matches my mood, and the style of clothes expresses my personality. In Łódź I am embarrassed to wear some clothes because the views of some locals are too judgmental for me. In Kyiv, everything was different.
Olga
I'm a film director. I study languages. I am looking for myself, using all branches of art. I love sunny weather and lack of stinginess. I try to combine style and comfort, although sometimes it is not easy. Clothes also should give me a sense of confidence. I also like to be eccentric and give meaning to the clothes I wear. Many of the things that I brought from Ukraine are memorabilia that represent specific moments and memories. The clothes preserve my past and present life that the war took away from me.
Kira Victoria Max
I was building a family with my wife in Kryvyi Rih. Now we live in Lodz.
Recently, we have been buying used clothes. It is a practical and environmentally friendly way to buy clothes, and... this way is also interesting. We brought clothes that we will no longer wear anymore. These things remind us of our past, when our daughter was growing up, the war and moving to Lodz.
Julia
I work in sales and customer service on a daily basis. I also try to develop my photography portfolio. I co-founded the Movement collective, which deals with fashion, photography and music. I am interested in art in all its manifestations. My closet consists mainly of black clothes, and most of them come from second hand stores. I also wear individual pieces reworked together with the Movement collective. These are the ones that I feel best in and that best fit my personality.
Mario
I graduated from the Film School in Lodz and I'm into photography. I like to take photographs with a medium format analog camera. I wear simple, subdued clothes, sewn from natural materials. I do not spend money on logos and brands. I like minimalism, which expresses my attitude to art and photography I create.
For the museum I brought, among other things, a shirt I bought for a zloty in a military store. It was made in 1987 and is older than I am. No one has ever wore it, also I never wore it. Clothing is the covering of the body, a means of subtle expression, a thing that communicates membership in a social group. Clothes can, for example, reveal that someone has an artistic personality, or works in a corporation. People studying at the Department of Cinematography at the Lodz Film School often wear woolen hats and mountain boots, because they need to stay warm when working outside. Such evaluations and identifications can be misleading, however.
Roma Lera
My name is Roma, I am 19 years old. I was born in Ukraine, but I have been living and working in Lodz for 5 years.
My name is Lera, I am 20 years old. I moved to Lodz after the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Roma: I'm good at clothes because it's a good way of self expression
Lera: I brought these things but I didn't wear them anymore, and I wanted to put them to good use, not just throw them away. I was wearing these things when I was fat, and they are a sign for me that I don't want to go back to the past
Adrian
I am originally from Pabianice, but live in Lodz. I graduated from computer graphics and work in the printing industry. After work, I co-founded an art collective.
For me, clothing is the key to self-expression. It should be consistent with my personality and should not limit me, but at the same time it can represent different aesthetics. I can have a different style every day.
Clothing allows us to communicate what we usually cannot say with words. The clothes I brought are related to my interests. They illustrate my creativity and diverse passions. Some of them have to do with music, while others have to do with fashion or with the world of sports.
Aneta
I am 26 years old. I graduated in architecture from the Technical University of Lodz, where I have lived basically all my life. But I'm moving with my boyfriend to the Netherlands soon.
I am not interested in fashion. I wear what I like. I like rock style, but I combine it with other aesthetics. I like dark and subdued colors, which to some extent reflect my personality. Clothing is a form that protects the body from external factors. And at the same time it allows you to look nice.
Kateryna
I am an artist from Ukraine who has been living outside the country since March. The situation of a refugee artist is different from that of other refugee women, because thanks to friends from foreign institutions I can continue my work. I try not to accumulate too many clothes and buy new things because I have to move constantly. When my two-year-old daughter and I flew out of Ukraine, I took only children's books in Ukrainian and a laptop. Almost all my things were donated by kind people and each of them is connected with some story.
