cutting edge
This project delves into feminist theory by deconstructing traditional women’s roles through the transformation of domestic objects. Cutting up women’s nightgowns to create thread, she reimagines these symbols of domesticity and passivity as materials for creative resistance. This thread, rolled into a ball of yarn, became the basis for textile tests in which Yelena knitted the yarn into fabric, further symbolizing reconstruction and agency from what once confined. The process unfolded as a durational performance in the liminal space of public transport between Rotterdam and Utrecht. Over approximately 20 hours, Yelena’s repetitive act of cutting disrupted the monotony of daily commutes. Inserting an intimate, labor-intensive activity into this public arena, she confronted her own discomfort while challenging societal norms about where such “women’s work” belongs. The rhythmic labor of rolling the thread and creating fabric mirrored the persistence required to interrogate ingrained gender roles and reclaim agency. By turning nightgowns—objects associated with rest and domesticity—into tools for creation, Yelena metaphorically "cuts into the fabric of existence," undoing the limitations imposed on women’s identities. The act of knitting, traditionally seen as a feminine craft, is repurposed as an act of empowerment, as she reconstructs the raw material into new forms. Her work critiques the historical relegation of women to domestic spaces while offering a vision of transformation, autonomy, and visibility through art.
