In this exhibition Axén have materialized and investigated the meme (Meme - something that achieves great popularity and recognition in a short time only through the Internet) "The Feminine Urge To…." The New York Times describes the phenomenon like this:
Through the textile craft techniques of weaving, patchwork, quilting and embroidery, Axén have tried to understand and materialized why women often make themselves smaller in the form of my own take on the meme - ”The Feminine Urge To Feel Small"
”The phrase is ostensibly about desire, but it is often followed by a negative personality trait or habit, gender stereotype or a position on a social issue. It may also precede a highly specifik fantasy. Meme makers have used the format both satirically and earnestly, but most often to poke fun at their own desires and tendencies.”
Through the textile craft techniques of weaving, patchwork, quilting and embroidery, Axén have tried to understand and materialized why women often make themselves smaller in the form of my own take on the meme - ”The Feminine Urge To Feel Small"
"I can see that women, consciously and unconsciously, make themselves smaller, e.g. not taking place in conversations or wearing clothes that are several sizes too big (for example, you can look at memes that circulated in 2020 on the Internet, especially on the platform TikTok, that the artist Adriana Grande often wore oversized sweatshirts that covered her hands to look small and cute). My goal with this upcoming exhibition is to approach this issue with humor through the textile art"
- Lovisa Axén.
