Artist Statement

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I am a contemporary textile artist working with fiber as a sculptural and symbolic medium. My practice explores the relationships among material, identity, and space through textile-based forms, drawing on folk symbolism, mythology, and personal storytelling. Deeply inspired by Mexican folklore and traditional ornament, I transform symbolic visual narratives into contemporary textile compositions that merge heritage with modern expression. Textile is a medium through which emotion, memory, and cultural identity take physical form. Working primarily with tufting techniques, I create rugs and soft sculptural objects that exist between craft, design, and contemporary art. My visual language combines contemporary folk symbolism, stylized figuration, ornamental composition, and bold, expressive color, resulting in works that feel both playful and ceremonial, decorative and deeply symbolic. I approach textiles as more than a decorative material. For me, it is a medium through which emotion, memory, and cultural identity take physical form. Each piece is conceived as both an art object and symbolic presence, inviting the viewer into a tactile and emotional experience of texture, color, and narrative.

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Biography

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Mariia Fedianina (aka MARIACHI) is a Ukrainian-born, Spain-based textile artist working with hand-tufted rugs and contemporary fiber art. Her artistic background combines formal training in art, textile studies, makeup and body art, fashion design, and material-based craft practices. She continued her education at the University of the Arts London, studying textile workshop, styling, costume history, and fashion marketing at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and London College of Fashion.

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After founding and leading her own fashion brand for eight years, Fedianina relocated to Spain in 2022 and dedicated herself fully to textile art. Working between craft and contemporary art, she explores textile as a medium of memory, energy, and transformation. Deeply inspired by Mexican folk art and symbolism, her work combines vibrant color, ornament, and personal mythology, drawing connections between Mexican and Ukrainian cultural traditions. Alongside her studio practice, she leads MariachiLab tufting workshops in Spain. Her works are held in private collections in Ukraine, Spain, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Mexico.