Silvia Ziranek - BY A THREAD incorporating UNSUNG SONGS

MOCA London is pleased to present new work by Silvia Ziranek, a well-established multi-media artist with a strong performance art focus. She has performed across the UK, Europe, the Americas, Australia and New Zealand, including at the Venice Biennale; Tates Modern and Britain; Georges Pompidou Centre, Paris; Modern Art Oxford and Plug-In, Winnipeg. Ziranek’s project at MOCA London comprises BY A THREAD incorporating UNSUNG SONGS, a multi-media exhibition combining beautifully and economically made sculpture and the written word. BY A THREAD is a new, large scale (over 10 foot) mobile that will dominate the gallery space, making ingenious use of everyday materials, combining text with textiles (carpet tiles, wallpaper, picture frames). Through poetry, text-in-textiles, and installation Ziranek addresses violent, abusive behaviour towards women and girls and focuses on offering strength through solidarity and acknowledging others’ experiences by finding words and ways of opposing emotional and physical abuse. B.A.T. is a monumental mobile suspended from the gallery ceiling. It displays textile panels containing single words and phrases from UNSUNG SONGS; a wall text ‘THE MY SCAR’; and an audio recording of the 15 SONGS. Derived from personal experience Ziranek’s poems, always spoken (never sung) address vulnerability, aggressive male hierarchy and emotional un/intelligence. Ziranek hopes to empower women and girls by creating a provocative arena for contemplation. The London installation travels to The House of Smalls, Edinburgh, launching on November 25, the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, which nationally addresses violence against women and girls. It also aims to engage perpetrators to unlearn aggressive traits. The project will be promoted widely and the UNSUNG SONGS, in a publication designed by Herman Lelie, will be published to coincide with the exhibition. Tatty Devine are creating unique work to be worn and Betterbadges will produce badges! Ziranek’s work, which is generally of a female, domestic, questioning, emotional, political, culinary, architectural, linguistic nature, should not to be dismissed as frivolous play: whilst deceptively witty, it is serious, specific, rich and concise in its attempt to investigate and express the subject. She has been featured in numerous artists’ publications including VERY FOOD (London: Book Works), Recipe for Artists’ Cook Book (Berlin: Druckwerkstatt), ‘PINK SHOES ARE BETTER’ in Raised Awareness (A portfolio publication: Tate) and the timeless I ARE OR, the illustrated publication for Ziranek’s performance in the Imperial War Museum’s Camouflage programme. It is no surprise to those who know her that Ziranek’s favourite colour is pink.