With a series of silkscreens on blackwrap and organza, Eva Mitala’s fourth solo exhibition, Blackwrap, examines the multilayered nature of the authentic appreciation of diversity, forming new narratives for emerging communities of contrast. She explores themes of alienation and nostalgia, creating a sense of narrative mystery, often drawn from photographs, pop culture, film, and digital daily life. Part of the Blackwrap series was shown at the Luggage Store Gallery in San Fransisco during the spring of 2024.
The silkscreen process, entirely experimental and created in the studio, often leads her spontaneously to new materials that represent the possibilities of the unknown. Each material choice becomes an expression of evolving freedom, contemplating the relationship between them through their texture and tactile nature. Blackwrap, an opaque material that blocks and absorbs light, contrasts with the transparency of organza, creating a dialogue that invites
reflection on what is visible and what remains unseen. Each material chosen embodies the expression of an advancing freedom, reflecting the correlation of the different materials through touch and the nature of their touch.
Transparent films, glass, wood, and fabric merge in her process, while the materiality of blackwrap embodies the intimate emotional memories from her years in Berlin, reflected in the underground muse of West Berlin, Tabea Blumenschein. After moving to the West Coast and navigating feelings of isolation, the artist redefined her sense of empowerment through her engagement with the San Francisco defining figure, Honey Mahogany.
In this series, created over the past two years, disparate elements come together and interact in space, transforming it into a continuous flow of interaction and interconnection. Through the contrast of black and white, the artist follows the flow of the process, guiding her to either develop pushing forward what is in progress or pausing to begin anew.
The work examines how the post-digital age disrupts human relationships, highlighting the need for personal human connections and suggests reexamined histories and evokes alternative futures, questioning history and culture while emphasizing cultural exchange and focusing on community, inclusion, and shared narratives to create space for rethinking the present.
