Souls, Ties and a Pile of Carrots
One of the largest global failures in recent years was the economic crash of 2008. It was so devastating that the emerged ripples of doubt regarding the financial industry are still felt today. In her series ‘Souls, Ties and a Pile of Carrots’ Lana Mesić tried to find out more about these bankers: how these Wizards of Oz work, what they feel and how they think about their environment.
In twelve interviews with individuals working in The City, the financial heart of London, she explored what is behind the façade of an industry in which the ‘image’ is so carefully constructed, out of fear that which they rely on most – trust – will be broken.
After each interview the duration was recorded, and a snapshot was taken. By using a cross-stitch technique Mesić translated these snapshots into embroidered portraits. She transformed the time given by each of the interviewees into the time she spent on working on the cross-stitch portrait. The longer the interview, the more detailed the final result. ‘Souls, Ties and a Pile of Carrots’ is an attempt to break the hyper constructed image of the London’s financial district by slowly, patiently and carefully cross-stitching the faces of their players, using an age-old technique.