My latest work focuses on the tragic losses of the 21st century, specifically the extinction of bird species and the death of indigenous languages around the world. The pieces also echo the forced migration of humans, who are similarly victims of war, poverty, famine, climate change, and habitat fragmentation.
I create feathered textile paintings, sculptures and installations from feathers are cut from fused recycled plastic bags and then silk-screened with images from my drawings of endangered birds. The feathers are overprinted with text in endangered languages such as Tzotzil, Yakme, Shorthand and Yiddish, whose last living speakers/users are in steep decline.
The plastic feathers embed a layered narrative that addresses the global consumerism driving the loss of both bird and human habitat. I have thus been able to use my prior experience in wallpaper and textile design in the service of broad ecological and cultural concerns.
BIOGRAPHY
Wallpaper design and patterning have influenced Kruger’s work since her training in textile design at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City. She has taught, lectured and exhibited her artwork in museums and galleries throughout Mexico and the US since the 1980s.
Kruger maintains studios in the vibrant art community of Durham, NC and in the lakeside village of Chapala, Mexico.
Her art practice balances making objects of beauty that convey layered meaning about habitat fragmentation, bird migration, species extinction and loss of indigenous languages.