“Clothing as Celebration.” Aitor Saraiba

presents

Aitor Saraiba, a multi-faceted artist born in Talavera de la Reina.

Aitor draws, researches and embroiders. His work is centered on the autobiographical and on narrating the journey of deciphering invisible worlds. He is the author of "The son of the Legionnaire", "Nothing else matters", "The book of the Chrysalis" and a very famous tarot deck "Tarot de Luz". His work dances from the pages of his sketchbook to textiles, painting, video and photography. He has done important projects for the Prado and Thyssen museums in Madrid and is well known for his workshops and collaborations. Aitor has transcended the confines of the page or the cloth to tell powerful, relevant and very personal stories.

1. What is clothing for you?

I imagine that thousands of years ago that was what brought us together and also what drew us apart. What we wear continues to have a very powerful message about our way of being in the world.

2. Why embroider?

My mother taught me when I was a child, I have seen it all my life in my house. In my streets, the neighbors gathered with chairs at the door of their houses and embroidered all together, sharing their knowledge and their daily lives.

I learned to sew before I learned to draw. To embroider or sew being a man in my environment was not very well seen, even my grandmother told me that on Sundays I could not sew because God would be angry with me. My personal biography is linked to embroidery, it was impossible not to include this technique in my artistic production.

3. How do you define yourself?

Above all I am a researcher, which is what I enjoy the most, researching, reading and learning.

4. What role do textiles play in your work?

Since the beginning of my journey, textiles have been very present in my work. I always have textiles on hand, left over, old sheets or t-shirts that were no longer used. When you are a young artist, those things are very important and textiles and their techniques have always been in my life. In my neighborhood there were many sewing workshops and sadly there are none left today. Even as a teenager I spent entire summers working in those textile workshops.

5. What are you working on now?

I am working on my doctoral thesis, on the production of new embroideries and some surprises that I will be able to tell very soon

6. How did you decide to dedicate yourself to art?

It is not something that is decided, it is a way of life. Creativity and survival have always been present in my life, from a very young age, and those are the two things that are needed if you want to dedicate yourself to art.

7. What role do you think art plays in the present moment?

There has to be a paradigm shift. And there is. Events such as XTANT are an example of it, they are the small tip of an iceberg that we all need. We need that change, which makes the world a much more egalitarian, more plural and fair place.

8. What motivates you today?

The rain, watching the birds, the forest, the invisible world, God, poetry, the Devil, Light, plants, freedom.

9. Who do you admire?

The truth is that I admire all the silent craftsmen and artisans who from their studios continue to produce an ancient work adapting it to the new times. I admire people who leave little trace in the world, the austere and the humble. The people who make me feel who I really am.

10. A dream to fulfill

I have so many… Eliminating fear would be one of them.