Mônica Lóss

Where Does the Hunger of the Word go? is a series of works that I started in 2022 in which I researched the deep relationship between identities, resilience and immigration processes of Latin American immigrant women; using pieces of clothing as an element that connects memory and transformation, I generated a form of art that created new  narratives based on their original personal stories.

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In this series of works, I have used various textile procedures such as sewing, crochet, embroidery and artisanal dyeing/coloring to produce pieces with varying dimensions that move between two- and three-dimensional. But this series isn't just about technique; it is an in-depth exploration of issues related to the identity, immigration, and resilience of Latin American immigrant women, including my own journey of immigration (from Brazil to the United States) and migration (Michigan, Texas, and California) in the United States.

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Many of the fabrics used in the construction of the series' pieces are clothes donated by women from different Latin American countries who have immigration as a common experience. The clothes act as a testament to the diverse journeys and intricate stories; a link between the past and the present, forming a new landscape for the new times we face.

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Women's immigration processes are a central point of interest in this series. They represent much more than a simple geographic displacement; they resonate as a way to search for a place in the new land, resilience in the face of adversity and constant reinvention of oneself. Transforming what was once clothes into part of something new becomes a path of inner healing, of rebuilding the empty spaces that crossings, losses and ruptures cause. It becomes a tool to explore the relationship that is established between being and belonging to a new place.

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The construction of the title of this research Where Does the Hunger of the Word go? occurred little by little, through events, experiences and personal symbolisms that I have been experiencing as a “Latin-Brazilian” female artist based in the United States. But mostly, it expanded and gained consistency as I connected with other women's stories. The clothes that were donated for the production of the first works in this series arrived accompanied by stories and memories that the clothes held for these women. Some of the stories they told about the clothes were related to their places of origin, to a love, to a longing, to a loss, to a joy... these experiences evoked through the donated clothes became questions, they became voices belonging to a collective. In the first instance,  “Where Does the Hunger of the Word go?” may lead to the idea that the works can deal with hunger in the literal sense, but in fact, what is sought here is to give clues that evoke the notion of what it means to have needs, basic needs that are not met, such as hunger, for example, as well as experiencing inequalities, inequities, violence, precariousness and oppression, especially from the perspective of the lives of immigrant women. These are wounds that need to be healed, healed, just like hunger.