The Textile art world

Textile art is one of the many story-telling techniques that have been employed throughout history. This industry is growing, and each day, new textile art masterpieces with lovely concepts and designs appear. The adaptability and durability of fabrics have created new opportunities for design, scale, drama, and effect. 

There are many artists that create textile installations, and each of their works has a unique story to tell, drawing on political, social, and personal themes. The installations are made via weaving, sewing, rolling, twisting, dying, folding, patchwork, and other similar techniques. Many of them use waste materials to raise awareness of environmental degradation and climate change. Reusing materials and artefacts from the trash to make art involves changing people's preconceived ideas about art and art forms as well as discovering new possibilities.

These are the select few artists whose works have truly moved me. 

Hyacinthe Ouattara: 

Visual artist Hyacinthe Ouattara is a self-taught individual who resides and works in France. He specialises in elaborate room installations and sculptural wall art. His artwork consists of combinations of various commonplace items (often textiles) that are used outside of their normal setting. They typically have an organic quality, consisting of twisted, knotted, bound, and wrapped materials that are either hung like mobiles or sculpted into three dimensions.

His drawings show his conceptual ideas for a piece but have their own aesthetic value as shown in this sketch below.

Signes des L'Ames Outtara

Wallen Mapondera :

Wallen Mapondera is an artist from Zimbabwe , known for his use of repurpose materials to create huge and complex wall structures and installations. He created the artwork commenting on political-social comments on power, inequality and exploitation in his home country in his initial days. The piece below from the show is constructed using a discarded tent as its basis, stitched and patched as symbolic gesture to try and mend a broken society in Zimbabwe. 

Kudzoka Kumba

Kudzoka kumba means 'returning home', referring to Zimbabweans in the diaspora who always find reason to go back home. In his 2020 exhibition at Smac Gallery he uses packaging as a medium , a tool for survival in an economically depressed country. Here it is specifically egg cartons on a wooden frame.

Tuck shop 3, Egg crates