Irina Nakhova
12 SELECTED INSTALLATIONS 1994–2004
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IRONING BOARDS
2001
Thermal inkjet prints on fabric, boards, 135 x 42 x 3 cm each;
four irons, thermal inkjet on adhesive vinyl, 23 cm height;
printing: Applied Image Inc.
Threads of a feminist gaze permeate the artist’s musings on the
«maternal role in the life of an individual and the fate of the
nation». ... Nakhova examines the transient nature of home
against the permanence of maternal ties. The anonymity of female
subjects is picked up in «Ironing Boards», seven boards stretched
with thermal inkjet-printed photographs on graphic silk. Shaped
liked gothicizing windows, they enclose half-length female figures
shown from the back, unclad above the waist.
The photographs center on the radiant surface of the skin. It
appears soft and supple to the touch – protective warmth, tenderness,
sensousness of young female epithelium. Inside the framed
niches, the figures look sequestered, yet exposed and vulnerable.
Used irons on the floor, underneath the ironing boards, don similar
skin decals suggesting that the ironing boards are as jarring as
they are lusciously tactile....The ironing board holds warmth, just
like human skin. With keenness and versatility, Nakhova extends
her «faktura» into new physical and philosophical dimensions.
Marina Mangubi (shortened version, first published in: «WhenWill You Be Home?», brochure, The College of Wooster Art Museum, Wooster, Ohio, 2003)