MÓNICA GIRON

        In the art world, evolution is constant. Styles, mediums, and perspectives shift over time, reflecting the ever-changing landscape of human expression. With that, some artists are subject to the inescapable growing pains of society. Monica Giron is a renowned Argentinian artist whose work Trousseau for a Conquero” has evolved in meaning and value over time. Her use of a traditional medium intertwines the worlds of knitting and cultural reflection. Women in society, colonialism, the patagonian ecosystem and care are just a few elements that arise when reflecting on this work. In a recent conversation with Ragna Froda, Giron spoke about her journey with a focus on one powerful statement: "Flexibility and adaptability are all in a mesh; it is all knitted together."

        Giron’s Trousseau for a Conqueror is a collection of pullovers for birds that travel through Patagonia made of merino wool (1993). A piece that explored themes of colonization, identity, and the impact of Western civilization on indigenous cultures. However, Giron points out that when she originally created the collection, though it was valued as art for its aesthetic virtues, it wasn’t given the monetary value that other mediums did in the commercial art world. “In the early years, the piece was shown worldwide”. But as Giron explains: “I didn’t have a gallery; it was a bit too hot to keep knitting and I wasn’t selling it for real price. It was like knitting for nothing. The piece wasn’t getting the credit that Art and galleries give through value in the commercial system. So, I stopped”. She attributes this discrepancy to the valuation of knitting and wool as a medium. Knowledge that she herself inherited from her mother. 

 In 2018 a curator in Buenos Aires approached Giron, expressing the importance of introducing this work to the new generation of audience. As a result, Giron created new pieces that weren't in the first Trousseaus. She knitted them with new models and added them to the original collection. Giron says “The piece evolves while I knit. The piece is thinking and emotionally standing on different grounds.” This places Giron’s work in an interesting space where it’s rebirth and revaluation allowed it to in itself evolve, not just through other’s interpretation.

www.monicagiron.com
@tallermonicagiron