Imprints, 2023

sheep wool

To knit = To create

To knit a glove = To create a world

A mitten is a space in which to feel warmth, coziness, safety, shelter and an emotional connection with the heritage of previous generations. A Latvian can express everything in mittens. Mittens are like a unique unit of measurement, a unit of payment or, to be more precise, a unit of compensation. Everything that is important can be expressed in mittens by a Latvian. Even it cannot be measured in money. Needle binding is a textile technique that humankind has been with since the beginning of time. It has no starting point in the timeline, only marked moments when it is gradually replaced by other techniques. Needle binding is probably the oldest textile making technique and cannot be taught to a machine (or it would require an unreasonable investment to do so). The mitten was made from inherited, donated and purchased materials. Wool from sheep that are grown in Latvia, which, by grazing Latvian meadows, also maintain Latvia’s natural landscape. On the other hand, by continuing the tradition of knitting mittens, the cultural landscape of Latvia is maintained. When the created work is no longer a mitten, it will become the soil as the beginning of something new. It is part of the eternal rhythm of the world.