Alicja Kozłowska explores intersection of craft & street culture
Polish textile artist Alicja Kozłowska redefines the boundaries between craft and street art in Banksy Who?, a public art series that brings embroidery to the urban landscape. Comprising seven large-scale embroidered graffiti works, along with crocheted balaclavas and hand-stitched spray cans, the project fuses traditional textile techniques with the raw, expressive language of graffiti. Set against the backdrop of city walls and industrial settings, Banksy Who? challenges preconceived notions of both mediums—provoking viewers to see embroidery not as delicate decoration, but as a bold, contemporary form of protest and expression.
ARTISTS SKULL – embroidered graffiti by Alicja Kozłowska | all images courtesy of Alicja Kozłowska
Banksy Who? reimagines graffiti through embroidered textures
Alicja Kozłowska draws from the visual intensity and immediacy of street art, but trades aerosol paint for thread, beads, and fabric. By introducing the tactile richness of textiles to the urban canvas, the Polish textile artist and designer adds depth and dimension that spray paint alone cannot achieve. Embroidery becomes a tool for storytelling and resistance—each stitch a deliberate mark, echoing the energy of graffiti tags and murals while offering a new, layered materiality. Beads shimmer like fresh paint, quilted textures emulate worn city surfaces, and stitched motifs stand defiantly where murals might once have been.
BANKSY WHO? textile piece on a trash can
reclaiming public space through a raw textile language
The project is not only a visual intervention but also a conceptual one. Banksy Who? seeks to upend the hierarchy that often separates ‘high’ art from street culture, or traditional craft from contemporary commentary. By integrating centuries-old techniques into the ephemeral, rebellious realm of graffiti, Kozłowska breathes new life into textile art—proving it can be raw, political, and urgent. The accompanying photoshoot, capturing each piece embedded within real city environments, further emphasizes the work’s mission: to reclaim public space with thread as its medium and message.
With Banksy Who?, Kozłowska speaks to a new generation—inviting them to see embroidery not as an artifact of the past, but as an evolving, boundary-pushing practice deeply connected to urban life. In doing so, she not only reshapes the narrative around textile arts but also stitches her own place into the fabric of contemporary visual culture.
BANKSY WHO?
PAINTSUCKS 2 textile piece
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