Kasia Ozga

Parapluie Collective, Communal Umbrella

Parapluie Collective (Communal Umbrella), was created in 2010. The installation consists of used and broken umbrellas, thread, and velcro and was made during an artist residency with Abbadia. The idea for this work came about after frustration with the inadequacy of individual umbrellas to protect users from a spell of bad weather in Hendaye, France. By repairing and sewing umbrellas together, the artist hoped to create a temporary protective barrier for groups of people, rather than individuals. The used umbrellas were collected with the help of civic associations such as Emmaus, the local recycling center and the garbage dump. Fabricated with a sewing machine and attached together with velcro, the ephemeral installation was first presented during the inaugural exhibition of the Centre Culturel Mendi Zolan, Hendaye, France in January 2011. The installation of the piece requires a delicate performance in which the artist dances around the work, gingerly opening first one umbrella and then another until the structure is fully spread out. The sculpture served as the model for the larger participatory project, la Marcha de los paraguas colectivos, in Pampeluna, Spain, during the La Muralla Nómada festival in 2011.