Day Residues / Counter-Archives (2018–)
Medium: Mixed media textile (e.g., embroidery, appliqué on cotton/silk), pigments, thread
Size: Variable (full dimensions available at the end of the page)
day residues is an ongoing series of works in fabric, thread, and paint. The title borrows Freud’s term for the leftover moments of a day that resurface in our dreams. In the same way, these pieces record everyday scenes as they pass through memory — like a diary, but stitched.
In the current project series why white paper turns yellow (supported by the Kunststiftung NRW, 2026), this approach expands into a speculative counter-archive. Confronted with fragmentary Tatar traditions, Epstein employs a science-fiction aesthetic to detach traditional ornamentation from a purely folkloric reading, transforming it into textile agents.
Tagebuch der bösen Taten (logging bad deeds)
2018 –
In parallel, the process-based work logging bad deeds operates as a form of self-archiving. In hand-bound books and video performances (since 2021), transgressions are recorded both in writing and visually. The use of the ritual prayer mittens (Bet-Handschuh) marks the intersection between private repentance and public performance; it transforms the abstract concept of guilt into a visible, almost sculptural act of self-reflection.
in easy words
day residues are artworks made of fabric.
I sew, embroider and paint on the fabric.
Embroidery means: making pictures with needle and thread.
I started this series some years ago.
It is still going on.
day residues means: leftover moments from the day.
The name comes from Sigmund Freud.
Freud was a famous doctor for the mind.
He said: small moments from the day come back in our dreams.
My artworks work the same way.
They show small moments from my everyday life.
A little bit like a diary.
But the diary is made of fabric and thread.
Right now I work on a new series.
It is called: why white paper turns yellow.
The Kunststiftung NRW supports this project in 2026.
The Kunststiftung NRW is a foundation for art.
In this project I look at Tatar traditions.
I am Tatar myself.
Only small parts of these traditions are left today.
I take old Tatar ornaments.
An ornament is a decorative pattern.
I mix the ornaments with science fiction.
Science fiction means: stories about the future.
So the old patterns become something new.
They are more than folklore.
They become like characters with their own life.
Distant Call (2021)
Installation in the Bloom Exhibition Space, Düsseldorf
Curated by Jisue Byun
Medium: Textiles, television, wall-mountable output device
Size: Variable
Under the extraordinary circumstances of the 2021 lockdown, a duo exhibition with the artist Jürgen Krause was organized in the BLOOM exhibition space in Düsseldorf. Programmatically titled DISTANT CALL, the show reflects the experience of distance in form and content, while simultaneously creating a space—despite pandemic-related restrictions—where art and culture can be experienced again.
In the shop window, the video performance Tagebuch der bösen Taten 19 I (logging bad deeds 19 I) is running on a screen: A speaker reads from chapters of the logging bad deeds. The sound, captured via a contact microphone on the windowpane, can be heard like a whisper on the sidewalk. After every secret confession, the video images show the artist—an act of additional penance—putting on her Bet-Handschuh (Prayer Mittens). This custom-made functional garment encloses the hands in a praying posture and can only be put on with the aid of the mouth.
Two models of the Prayer Mittens are positioned as artifacts in the exhibition space, thus functioning as a link between the performance and the series of Day Residues, which were visible on a linear wooden pedestal in the center of the room.
in easy words
DISTANT CALL is the name of an exhibition.
It was in Düsseldorf in 2021.
The exhibition space is called BLOOM.
Jisue Byun curated the exhibition.
Curating means: planning and organizing an exhibition.
It was a duo exhibition:
I showed my art together with the artist Jürgen Krause.
In 2021 there was the corona lockdown.
Museums and galleries were closed.
People had to keep distance.
The exhibition is about this distance.
But it also brought art to the people in this hard time.
You could see the art from the street.
In the shop window there was a screen.
On the screen a video was running.
The video is called: logging bad deeds I.
That means: writing down bad actions.
In the video, a person reads from the loggings.
The loggings tells about „bad“ actions.
A small microphone was fixed to the window glass.
So you could hear the voice on the sidewalk.
It sounded like a whisper.
In the video you can also see me.
After every confession I put on my Prayer Mittens.
A confession means: telling about something bad that you did.
The mittens hold my hands in a praying position.
I can only put them on with the help of my mouth.
Putting them on is a way of saying sorry.
Two Prayer Mittens were also shown in the room.
In the middle of the room there was a long wooden pedestal.
A pedestal is a table or stand for artworks.
On the pedestal you could see my Day Residues.
The mittens connect the video and the Day Residues.
Image 1 ghosts on vacation, 2023 — Repro, Day Residue
, 30,5 × 29,5 cm
Image 2 partykell, 2024 — Repro, Day Residue
, 24 × 30 cm
Image 3 N22, 2023 — Repro, Day Residue
Image 4 N39, 2025 — Repro, Day Residue, 22,5 × 21,5 cm
Image 4 N38, 2025 — Repro, Day Residue 23 × 18 cm
Image 5 environmental management, 2021 — Repro, Day Residue, 24 × 22 cm
Photos by Felix Adam
Image 7-11 Installation view
Day Residues, logging bad deeds 19 I and Prayer Mittens
Gallery BLOOM Düsseldorf, 2021
Photos by Achim Kukulies
© VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn