"Cocoon therapy" is a recognised medical treatment dealing with the cognitive brain, prescribing complete mental rest, enabling the brain to repair itself.
For artist Ida Ivanka Kubler the therapy lies in the act of using actual cocoons to create artworks awakening positive responses in people. Both cocoon therapies results are the same: allowing the humans brain to rest and thereby heal.
Hence the artwork series "Birth of an idea" has been included in "Placebos for art" a project undertaken by the Behring Institute for Medical Research in the Netherlands, as these artworks have been deemed to improve people's health.
Silk cocoons pass their lives in complete silence nurtured under the shadows of mulberry trees. The artist takes this birth of silence and creates art that is immensely relaxing. "Birth of an Idea" artworks release the silent energy of cocoons to the viewer and the organic silent world of this birth under the mulberry tree is very welcoming. The result is at once both liberation and relaxation. It is as if time itself has stopped and we become connected.
The idea of the unusual material came to Ida just by chance. Growing up in sericulture for silk cocoons in rural Bulgaria, everything in her childhood was turning around them: sitting and colouring cocoons all day long under the shadows of the mulberry trees.
Ida Ivanka Kubler, the artist, explains: "Although exciting and interesting, the cycle of the silk cocoons with all its phases happens in complete silence. Often when I went into the place where the silk cocoons were spun, my grandfather would tell me to be silent as otherwise the silk worms won't create nice cocoons or even they would stop spinning (which is scientifically proven). I adore the strength of the silence (in the meaning also of relaxation), and was already thinking of ways to share this feeling with others and also turn it into something useful. I like to think of people looking at my artwork. If something comes to you it is "de-liberating" or restricting you, as you can't control it. The discovery of something on your own is liberating you, because you decide to do so. I often challenge the viewers while intending to liberate their perception, to empower them by their own feelings and so become Master of the Situation"
Over the last three years Ida has created several variations to this series of three-dimensional paintings, which the artist likes to call half-objects. The cocoons are modified in shape and painted like small sculptures individually, and stuck on the painted canvas. The shapes are simple. One of the colours is always the lighter and brighter one and playing the role of warmth, light, positivity, and strength. In creating this sublime scenario, Ida is appealing to the imaginative touch. It means in the moment you see something, you have the feeling and the desire of touching it with your hands, and you know how it would feel like. We are what we feel. It is awakening something very basic and for everybody very individual. Because of the difference and uniqueness in the people experiencing them, these artworks are multifaceted and this multifaceted-ness is reflected in the liberty of ways in which you can hang them: horizontally, vertically or on the ceiling.
Oddly enough these artworks are noise reducing as well which given their silent origins makes complete sense.
Lorenzo Belenguer, curator and art critic says: "cocoons has always fascinated ancient civilizations. They represent change and produce one of the most exquisitely beautiful fabrics: silk. Ida has managed to incorporate this material raw into her works with a simplicity and beauty that it is overwhelming. No wonder the waiting list to acquire her works keeps growing all the time".
Ida Ivanka Kubler was born in 1978 in Bulgaria and moved in 1997 to Germany and then again to London in 2008. She has had studios in Bulgaria, Germany, France and USA. Further Ida has attended the National Academy of Arts, Sofia, Bulgaria, the University of Applied Arts, Bielefeld, Germany and the Chelsea College of Art and Design, London, UK. Previously she has exhibited in galleries worldwide; and at the Canary Wharf Galleries, Tricycle Gallery and Westbourne Grove Church Artspace in London, UK. Collectors of her work are based in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Bulgaria, Spain, France and USA.
You can see "The Birth of an Idea "artworks worldwide and throughout the year.
For further information on future shows or comment please visit the website www.idaworkbox.com