Zuzka

In this installation I have tried to explore the duality of common objects - objects that are tangible and objects that live in our memories. Shoes are the catalyst for many of my memories. Shoes are the carriers of our odor and footprints. Shoes are shaped by our sweat into personal molds.
Throughout history, functional accessories reflected social status and a sense of wellbeing and security. In the last decade we have witnessed a frenzied consumption of designer shoes and bags. Brand names were the "Coat of Arms" for functional objects: bags, to carry belongings and shoes, the primary mean of "human locomotion". Both my parents survived the concentration camps. Their families were murdered and their upper middle class status and possession vanished. In my mother's meticulous descriptions, beautiful objects mingled with the horrors of war. Those were the first footprints of my childhood memories. While Hitler's voice was blasting on the radio, my grandparents were renovating their summer- house, the tailor was busy embellishing the silk dresses for my mother and her little sister, and the men, were skiing in the mountains with their warm ski boots.
In my many years as a designer working in Varanasi, the Holy Indian city along the bank of the Gangi River, I tried to reproduce the beauty of some of the textiles my mother described: weaving the pain into cloth. Beauty and death on the weft, memories on the warp.
The proximity of the smoking funeral pyres and the bathers in their colorful saris had a powerful impact on me. Luxury and death paraded hand in hand in India in the same way as they marched in my mother’s memories. Her memory became mine to bear: inseparable and invisible.

Bio:
Born in Prague in the middle of the last century in the former Czechoslovakia.
Following the Soviet occupation in the 60's, immigrated with family to Israel.
Early 70's, moved to Italy and attended the Academia di Belle Arti in Rome.
Early 80's, immigrated to New York with daughter Anatea and started working in the fashion industry.
Mid 80's, founded ZUZKA collection and travelled extensively to India, Vietnam, Burma, Ghana, Thailand and Europe in search of textiles and worked directly with hand weavers and embroiderers who realized her intricate designs.
Over 22 years, Zuzka was established as a luxury brand in high-end women's wear and home furnishing stores. At the same time, Zuzka was designing costumes for dance and opera using innovative optical fibers. She experimented with sculptural forms using textiles as her favorite medium.
Two years ago, ZUZKA collection closed it's doors and since then Zuzka has been dedicating her time to art.
Zuzka lives in New York City with her husband Steve and a red cat.