DADDY WOULD BE PROUD

Objects

2011
Various Locations

Extraordinary wood carvings can be found when you visit native Polish markets. Some of the most interesting are carved in the Beskids, a series of mountain ranges in South Poland. The wood carvers from there take their wares to the market, where they present their objects. My Father is from this region. My Mother has always said that he is a true ‘Goral’, a boy from the mountains. Influenced by these crafts from the country of my origin, I interpreted my own woodworking skill into a series of small objects using pear tree wood.

From the interview with Maya Dvash, Chief Curator of the Holon Design Museum:

Daddy Would Be Proud is a series of wood-sculpted tools haphazardly arranged in a simple wooden box, and look as though they were carved by an unskilled hand, as if hewn from the distant memory of a child. The piece belongs to the exhibition’s “Arts and Crafts” category that deals with crafts such as carpentry and weaving that have been handed down the generations from father to son and from mother to daughter (in this instance, from father to daughter). Even in Central Europe these crafts are dying out today due to the lack of interest displayed by the younger generation. It is actually post-industrial contemporary designers who consider them a source of inspiration and are preserving traditional skills that are no longer valued. Matylda Krzykowski is one of these designers, but she is not only preserving the vanishing skill of wood sculpting, she seemingly carves her father’s tools from her memory, early memories that connect her to a distant country.

Why tools?

This piece is very personal. You can see the limitations of the craft in it, but they are my limitations. When I was approached before the exhibition in Milan in 2011 and asked to create something limited in size that could be easily transported, I thought about woodwork. At around the same time I visited one of my teachers and saw wooden clothespins that were about thirty years old. All this connected with a memory I had of visiting my homeland, Poland. When I was little and visited Poland, I liked watching the craftspeople in the market who made wooden toys for a living. This piece is a tribute to them too.

Exhibitions:
Common Roots, Design Museum Holon, Israel
15 Nov 2012 – 23 Feb 2013