Egla Memaj

Gold thread embroiderer

Exploring Albania in gold thread

Egla studied painting, textile and fashion
Research of cultural heritage is central to her work
She focuses her craft on the ethnography of fashion in Albania

Egla Memaj became enamoured with needlework as a child, while watching her grandmother and mother’s patient stitching. She nurtured her passion during her studies at the University of Arts in Tirana, specialising in textiles and fashion, and experimenting with metallic threads. A visit to the National Ethnographic Museum in Berat spurred her to pursue an ethnographic study of Albanian clothing for three years. This theme became the inspiration for her first exhibition, Psalm, at the FAB gallery in Tirana in 2018. Her meticulously finished gold thread embroideries depict themes related to Albanian cultural heritage – including the symbolic eagles.

Interview

When did you first develop an interest in this craft?: I started to learn simple crafts like knitting and sewing when I was seven with my mother and grandmother, to dress my dolls. Later, I prepared for my entrance exam for the Art Lyceum, where I studied painting and styling, and I became more involved in the sewing world.
How did you start working with gold thread?: During my university studies I always based my work on traditional Albanian culture, combining it with my own style. In my final year, I began to dedicate myself seriously to hand embroidery techniques inspired by Albanian ethnography.
What do you enjoy the most about what you do?: The possibility of reinterpreting old symbols and traditional cultural heritage and exploring new themes and topics. I transform my findings into new styles thanks to the mixed-media techniques that I have been experimenting with since 2018, blending hand embroidery and acrylic on canvas. I would find it very boring to do the same thing all the time!
What surprises people about your work?: It is difficult for people to understand the resolve, dedication and patience that my work takes, as well as the conceptual side of it. Every theme or symbol that l create is carefully selected, reinterpreted and composed in the frame to maximise its meaning and cultural importance.

Egla Memaj is an expert artisan: she began her career in 2012