Professor Eugenia López Reus will exhibit at the 8th Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art

CritTeam, the art-research group formed by our teacher and her colleague Miguel Jaime, will exhibit the project "Entretejido" (upper image) within the framework of the 8th International Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art to be held from September 17th to November 3rd at Museo del Traje in Madrid. A few days before the opening, Eugenia has given us this interview:

- What does the Biennial mean within the sector?

It is an international event organized by the World Textile Art Organization (WTA) —in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and other institutions— which aims to promote contemporary textile art and strengthen solidarity between artists and lovers of the sector at a global level. The event aims to sensitize the public with a creative medium that tries to break down the barriers between the artisanal and the artistic.

- How would you define your work? What would you highlight about it?

"Entretejido" represents the strength of the memory of arish, a fabric made of fibers and palm leaves with which the Bedouins built their houses. This handicraft, about to disappear, is recreated in concrete on the façade of a contemporary residential building in Abu Dhabi. Our collage photo symbolizes the violent transformation of a natural and balanced environment: the desert inhabited by nomads for more than 7000 years, which in just 40 has created modern cities from scratch.

- The motto of this edition of the Biennal is "The Sustainable City". In what aspects is your project related to sustainability?

Our work invites us to reflect on how the contemporary discourse of sustainability connects with the ecological lifestyles of the past, holistic experiences that invite us to explore connections between tradition and nature, between memory and invention. The digital collage photo of two intertwined images that we present evokes the memory of the Bedouin fabric called arish, an endangered craft represented on the façade of a concrete tower in one of the most recent cities in the Arabian Gulf. 

CritTeam is formed by PhDs Miguel Jaime and Eugenia López Reus

- Have you been informed of the reasons for the selection of your work? What was the jury's assessment of the proposal?

"Entretejido" has been selected in the category of Photography Textile Image from an open international call. The jury, made up of Eva Sobán, textile artist and cultural manager, María José Magaña, head of Visual Arts at Instituto Cervantes in Madrid, and Carmen Dalmau, gallery owner, professor and curator of contemporary photography, assessed the artistic and technical quality of the photographic work presented and its connection with the motto of the Biennial.

- What does it mean for CritTeam to be present at this event?

For us, participating in the 8th WTA Biennial means having an ideal platform to give visibility and meaning to our research and artistic practice in institutions and biennials of global scope, as we have done on previous occasions, and is also a valuable opportunity to exhibit at Museo del Traje in Madrid. Our project "Entretejido" is part of a series of 10 photo collages called "Nomads".

- Is the project related in any way to your Interior Design and Product Design classes at LCI Barcelona?

Through a hybrid practice that blends digital and traditional media such as photography, collage and drawing, CritTeam approaches each artistic project as a reflective research that explores intersections between art, design and architecture with culture and the discourses of memory. In my classes at LCI Barcelona, students learn to reflect on their practice and to be able to research and integrate into their projects the materials and tools necessary for each situation. I start from the conviction that teaching, research and creative practice are intertwined in an experiential and reflective way.

Congratulations on this recognition!