Ulla-Stina Wikander’s art is unlike we’ve ever seen – a unique homage to the discarded objects of the past. Under her hands, an old toaster or rotary phone turn into works of art. She does so by covering household items from the ’70s with vintage embroidery.
“I find it interesting to see how these objects transform in a new context; the obsolete, the things we do not want any longer, the old and forgotten things,” writes Wikander on her website. “They become artifacts from a bygone era, disguised, camouflaged and dressed. I give them a second life and although I cut the embroideries into pieces, I think they look very beautiful when they have been ‘dressed up.’”
She “dresses” her objects up with fabrics made of cross-stitched embroideries she has collected over the years. Most of these embroideries were bought from flea markets and thrift stores, and carefully chosen for their pattern and color.
“I definitely have some favorite patterns and colors, but I buy all the embroideries I find because sometimes I need to cover parts that you hardly see,” she told My Modern Met. “Red cottages and birches, flowers, deer, and moose pattern and nature motifs are the ones I like best. If the colors are brilliant and they are well made, I like them even better.”
Take a look at some of her transformative work in the gallery below:
