The collection „Silence = Death“ is rooted in the AIDS epidemic of the 80s and 90s and the profound silence that surrounded it. It reflects a time marked not only by loss and fear, but by deliberate societal neglect — voices ignored, bodies politicized, and grief pushed into the shadows. Rather than retelling history literally, the collection translates this silence into material, texture, and form.
Velvet becomes a symbol of intimacy and vulnerability, absorbing light the way stories were absorbed and hidden. Pinstripes reference authority, institutions, and rigid systems — a quiet nod to power structures that chose restraint over compassion. Lacquered surfaces introduce tension: shiny, almost seductive, yet cold and resistant, mirroring the distance between public image and private suffering.
Central to the collection are the pearl embroideries. Each bead is placed by hand, echoing care, remembrance, and time. Pearls traditionally signify purity and elegance, but here they are recontextualized as acts of devotion and resistance — small, luminous markers against erasure. Stitch by stitch, they insist on visibility.
This collection does not aim to shout. It speaks softly, deliberately, and with weight. It invites the viewer to look closer, to feel the textures, and to confront the spaces where silence once lived — and where memory must remain.
Instagram: lukas__fls
Email: l.flasch@gmx.at