Beware: Bad Dog

Work from the Tablecloths series, whose title references the “Beware of the Dog” signs placed by some dog owners on their fences or gates.

The embroidered signs were written in Polish and Ukrainian and allude to danger and safety. The aesthetics of prison tattoos combined with the “Beware: Dangerous Dog” sign refer to the dangers associated with separation and isolation. The artist used English, Thai, Georgian, Afrikaans, and sign language, but treated them as ornaments rather than as carriers of content. Emergency tape and chains are the symbols of separation and isolation that brings a sense of security. Dogs and humans are aggressive because their need for love and intimacy are not met. Twisted tongues symbolize the impossibility of intellectual comprehension resulting from cultural differences, differences in experience, language differences, etc. The constellation of the Great Dog located in the centre of the fabric refers to cognition based on intuition and the subconscious.