Dunya Zakharova (b.1987) is a visual artist primarily working with textiles. Coming from Yakutia, the coldest inhabited place on the Earth, she reflects on her pagan roots, full of myths and deep narratives created by her ancestors during long winter days, trying to overcome loneliness in extreme natural conditions. Dunya often refers to her native language, naming her work, and writing poetry in Yakutian, thus trying to draw attention to the problem of its disappearance. She embraces techniques that were traditionally relegated to the realm of “women’s crafts,” such as embroidering and sewing. Dunya makes embroidered paintings, continuing to push boundaries in this field, started by feminist artists in the 1970s. |