Deconstruction / Reconstruction. Triennial of Textile in Lodz (Poland) from 11 October to 03 May 2026. To the curators, Marta Kowalewska and Bukola Oyebode-Westerhuis, these terms encompass the socio-political and economic challenges and contradictions of the present time. Deconstruction is dictated by a strong need for change arising from a scrutiny of the non-inclusive old orders and systems. Thus, in the framework of this Triennial, the curators propose deconstruction as breaking down and tearing apart, embracing a critical disorder, questioning and disturbing the order of modern society, rethinking old systems, and subjecting the modern world achievements to scrutiny. And, they conceive of reconstruction as a means to new possibilities, multiple pathways to restoration and repair, creating new systems to co-exist, looking back to erased traditions that can still benefit humanity, and imagining ways that our world can evolve from a state of endless violence.
Microbial Ancestors (topography of a second skin), textile work with 7 different organic fibers, 225cm x 170cm, 2023
Deconstruction / Reconstruction
Propelled by a strong need for change, the systems and structures created over centuries are being questioned, transformed, or rejected. There are pushbacks against old and new colonising schemes and ethno-fascist ideologies as demands for an equitable world increase. All forms of injustice are being criticised, with environmental, racial, and immigrant issues dominating the debates. Simplistic notions of gender and gender roles are being splintered and expanded. Resistance to the algorithm and our over-dependence on automation technologies are on the rise. There is a desire to get to the sources of what has been destroyed in the quest for globalisation and universal order. Rules and laws developed, modified, expanded, and forcibly imposed on the natural order have disrupted structures that have existed for centuries. They have distorted the diversified, heterogeneous nature of earthly reality.
Now, lost and disillusioned, we attempt to return to the archetypes, to what is indigenous and primordial. We are looking for traces, trying to reconstruct shattered cultures and practices. By finding the surviving crumbs, we try to read the history of which they are a part, to find our place in the strains of this diversity. We want the remaining signs to take us back to the source and to forgotten ways of being. We look to nature for salvation as we pause for a moment to listen to the biological rhythms of life. But, will reversing the centuries-old centrality of humans as the measure of the universe and seeking to take our place alongside the other forms of life unite us as one element in this vast network of connections? Would this broaden our cognitive perspective and restore the links lost between animate and inanimate nature? Likewise, would turning to indigenous knowledge systems deconstruct hegemonic episteme and re-order the hierarchies in knowledge production and discourse?
To subject our civilisation’s achievements to critical scrutiny is to find ourselves in crisis. Crisis can bring reflection and striving for a better tomorrow, but what kind of tomorrow will it be? Will it be a mere reshuffle of the old order, or rather, a new and different world where coexistence is possible and there is no constant aggression and power play? As we know, to have order is inscribed in our nature as humans. We need it to define our place in a complex world. Tired of the pace of change, of the impression of chaos, we may hurriedly return to and reconstruct a past that should remain buried.
Though reconstruction is a general notion, in the context of this Triennial we are thinking about this word through ideas of restoration and repair. We trust artistic imaginations to lead and guide us into nuanced and expansive directions. Moreover, textile is a capacious metaphor for a wide range of processes and discourse. It is like the flesh of the world. Like no other matter, it allows changes to be made. In the practices of contemporary art, using textiles conceptually, materially, or technically runs parallel to how the world is questioning old orders, beliefs, and schemes. Inquiries do not destroy the textile, rather, it is renewed and transformed, becoming a conduit for new forms, narratives, and meaning. Thus, contemporary artists of different generations, genders, and nationalities utilising textiles, textile methodology, or interweaving textiles with new media practices are invited to propose and submit work corresponding to deconstruction or reconstruction within the current world’s complex social, political, and economic systems and all those experiences that fall in between.
curators
Marta Kowalewska and Bukola Oyebode-Westerhuis
Microbial Ancestors (topography of a second skin), textile work with 7 different organic fibers, 225cm x 170cm, 2023
