Carmen Molina’s prints derive from her photographs, documenting the passage of time, in places that are raw and wild. Although the work originates from her representational photography, a process of deconstruction and layering turns it into abstract art.
The work, originally on paper, found its ultimate expression on silk cut to the female form. The pieces are the result of the ancient raw material intertwined with the state of the art. From the process of the silkworm producing a thread from eating mulberry trees, to the textures digitally photographed and altered by Molina, the artist and the silkworm are inextricably bound.
Molina sees herself as a small part in the silk chain that includes the mulberry tree, the silkworm, the silk weavers, the ancient Chinese wife of the Emperor who recognized it as a thread to luxuriate in and the merchants that have been making it accessible to everyone around the globe.