Artist's statement

I am a textile-based installation and costume artist. My work crosses boundaries between design and art. I look at everyday objects to get as near to people as possible to question and challenge their behaviour and their views on life and society. My aim is to create haunted houses where I corrupt objects to pass messages. Ordinary and inanimate items start to have a life of their own to express ideas and challenge us.

My work uses modest and soft media, textile and everyday objects, to get close to people and open them up to talk about crucial issues. I am interested in the gender association that is evoked by textiles - traditionally a "humble" and "feminine" medium. I want to make a work that is close to people and textile is such an intricate component of our lives! It literally touches us all the time: our garments, our skin and the interiors of our homes.

I believe in products where the consummer can have more input on the design. I believe in highly-crafted installations that truly make people people think instead of the current bling money-making trend in contemporay art. I believe in beauty combined with thought-provoking questions, playfulness and humour. I believe in the magic that technology can bring in our lives and art.

I believe in art and design that make us more responsible and freer as citizens and as humans.

Elisabeth Buecher
November 2011