Artist Gives Abandoned Objects New Life

Swedish artist Ulla-Stina Wikander gives old objects new life by wrapping them in cross-stitched textiles. She typically uses household items like sewing machines, electrical mixers, tools, cameras, etc.

The Stockholm-based artist has been doing art since 1986 and started collecting cross-stitch embroidery over 10 years ago. “Today I have a big collection with over 100 different designs,” she writes on her website. “These embroideries have been made by women and is often seen as kitch and regarded pretty worthless. I have mixed feelings for them but sometimes they are very beautiful and I want to bring them back to life.”

She doesn’t just want to collect them, she wants the world to see them. In 2012, she started using embroideries to cover up old household items. To her, it’s interesting how they completely change the context of these things, turning them from something old and forgotten into an artifact from another era.

You can see her work below and on her Instagram page.