artist uses discarded and disused fabric to create intricately layered tree stumps

breathing new life into old discarded materials, tamara kostianovsky creates intricately layered elements from nature. in the textile artist’s latest series, tree stumps, kostianovsky uses strips of  fabric from her late father’s clothing fabric to create the detailed forms.

images courtesy of tamara kostianovsky

the project was created in allusion to her father’s body returning to the environment after his passing. kostianovsky was inspired by the south american people of the andes who believe that mother earth is embodied by the surrounding mountains.

the artist’s developed an interest in the body while working at a surgeon’s office when she was younger, now creating work that examines muscle and bone. she explains in an artist statement: ‘fusing the shapes of severed tree stumps of different forms and sizes to a palette indicative of the insides of the body, [the series tree stumps] pays homage to the cultural heritage of the people of latin america, while presenting an alternative way of thinking about our post-industrial relationship to nature.’

via colossal