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Writer's pictureMonica Blignaut

Nespoon


Artist 306

NeSpoon

Lace


NeSpoon is a Polish artist from Warsaw. She is an urban artist known for her motif of mixing the delicacy of lace with the roughness and freedom of mural art.



Her unique brand of lace art can be seen all around the world. She transforms abandoned and severe areas into truly remarkable sights.



Through the choose of location, she also comments on political and social issues that have significant meaning to her and the society around where her art is. Whether it may be raising awareness of a growing lack of water and privatisation of resources in New Zealand, or a reference to beauty and harmony between cultures in the UAE, NeSpoon’s work is an example of real considerations of the social and political contexts of the environments of art.



The key motif in her works is the use of traditional laces, either made in clay or painted on walls. The Polish street artist is on a mission to embroider the world.


Her process is based on an almost forgotten tradition of doily making. NeSpoon has taken the humble domestic trait and successfully apply it in the streets on a much larger scale. She has given traditional lace work new possibilities and a new extension of life.



From lace murals and etched images to 3D lace installations perfectly attached to everyday things and intricate filigree in walls, trees or cracks in the sidewalks, she provides often harsh cityscapes with a new softness.


NeSpoon’s mediums include stencils, paintings, ceramics, crocheted webbing installed in public spaces, but also sculptures, video installations, and screen printings.



NeSpoon works with respect towards the location and the local context by finding her inspiration in the local textile.


NeSpoon aims to make art that evokes positive emotions in people. She uses lace patterns because she views that every lace contains a universally aesthetic code that is deeply embedded in most cultures around the world.



“Lace patterns contain a basic code of the harmony, which is common for most of the people. It is very ancient code, I think, it is older than the humanity. We can find it all around us in the nature: in the shape of small sea creatures, flowers, snowflakes. The harmony and symmetry of lace patterns are biological, alive, not mathematical, machine generated.” - Nespoon



The artist is especially known for her “public jewelry” – it’s a term that refers to her ceramic objects glued to the walls of the city. Sometimes they are combined with stencil graffiti, but making the ceramics is laborious. When finished, the pieces look very decorative, giving beauty to the place they are placed.



Her working process is usually instinctive: “First, I always ask my hosts to find local and original laces for me. If it’s possible, I always try to meet the local lace makers. Then I look through the different patterns and designs, and when my heart starts beating faster, I know I found the right lace. I immediately know that this pattern will fit into the project and the place.”




Sources consulted


https://womenyoushouldknow.net/street-artist-nespoon-explains-penchant-lace/

https://www.rockvandal.com/interviews/2019/03/02/interview-with-nespoon?format=amp

https://www.widewalls.ch/artists/nespoon

https://www.widewalls.ch/magazine/lace-art-nespoon-interview

https://urban-nation.com/artist/nespoon/

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