Guntra Works

The Plates of Chairs

9 bone chine plates, acrylic paint

2024

The Chair of Chairs

Ikea Stefan chair, acrylic paint

2024

This piece critiques the relentless cycle of design, redesign, and production in the world of consumer goods. I used a second-hand IKEA chair as a symbol of the endless creation of objects that serve more as status symbols than as practical items. By painting numerous small, white copies of the same chair on the seat, I rendered the chair unusable, transforming it into an object that carries a new, projected story and value. This work is a commentary on commodity fetishism and my own disillusionment with the design industry.

Unconscious Unfolding

2 textile blinds (roll up-curtains)

2024

This project celebrates the positive aspects of the unconscious mind, particularly its capacity for creativity, freedom, and expression. I used two large cotton roll-up curtains as the canvas, painting two whimsical, human-like characters based on a drawing game I played with my husband. The game involved drawing different parts of a body without seeing what the other had drawn, resulting in random, imaginative figures. This piece represents a personal breakthrough in my practice, as it allowed me to fully embrace the unpredictability and beauty of the unconscious mind.

Manufactured Hatred Between Us

2 golden textile hands with a mirror, acrylic paint

2024-2025

Consciously and subconsciously, we all seek connection, belonging, and love. Yet, we face continuous efforts to divide us through manufactured hate and propaganda. This engineered hatred stands between us, working to divide and conquer. The hands, reaching toward one another, symbolise our universal longing for connection and the empathy we all need and deserve. The gold represents the value of human connection, the hope for a better future, and the belief that we can overcome.

The Men who Rule the World

3 men’s jackets, cloth rack, acrylic paint

2024-2025

Inspired by Edward Bernays, the father of modern marketing, these three jackets symbolise the manipulation of the unconscious mind to drive consumerism, capitalism, and war. Bernays, drawing on his uncle Sigmund Freud’s theories of the unconscious, reshaped society by using psychological insights to fuel global capitalism, political control, and war propaganda. Each jacket represents one of these powerful forces—consumerism, capitalism, and the devastating impact of war.

The Man Who Sold The World

men’s jacket, acrylic paint

2024

Capitalism: A condemnation of Edward Bernays, the father of modern marketing. The white stripes painted on this jacket evoke old-fashioned, even cartoonish, images of prison uniforms, symbolizing the shackles imposed by a system that binds individuals. Drips from a tucked-in sleeve represent the wealth and misery generated by capitalism—an uneven distribution of resources that both elevates and entraps.

The Man of Many Chairs

men’s jacket, acrylic paint

2024

Consumerism: The love child of capitalism and propaganda, consumerism thrives on the belief that we need to buy things—not because we need them, but because they serve as status symbols. This notion suggests that objects—whether furniture, clothing, or other material possessions—reflect our inner selves, our character, and our emotions. An expensive item becomes a symbol of our status in society, shaping how we wish to be perceived by others.

The Man of War

men’s jacket, acrylic paint, linoprint

2025

War: This jacket, painted in white, hides the darkness beneath, yet the cracks begin to show. Lino-carved prints of bombs are scattered across the fabric, falling straight down as though they are coming directly off the production line—symbolising the mechanised and brutal nature
of warfare.

The Uncoscious Mind

Metal plate, acrylic paint

2024

Threads of Power

3 second-hand men’s button-down shirts, acrylic paint

145cm x 45cm

2025

This piece, made from three second-hand men’s shirts, critiques how the ultra-wealthy manipulate the middle class to support global conflicts that harm the lower class. A stylised tie, transforming into a hand dropping bombs, symbolises this violence.

The garment’s bottom represents resource exploitation and environmental destruction, driven by wealth consolidation. On the back, hands reaching upward symbolise displaced people seeking shelter, contrasting with the passive acceptance of war by the elite and middle classes. As far-right ideologies rise, refugees are vilified and denied asylum in the countries fuelling the conflicts they flee.

This work aims to provoke reflection on power dynamics, our role in perpetuating suffering, and the complicity of wealthy nations, like the Netherlands, through arms sales and support for violent regimes, such as Israel’s genocide of Palestinians.