Wool Week Belgium : Sanne De Wolf @ Graanmarkt 13

During Wool Week Belgium you can visit at the Graanmarkt 13 Gallery an exhibition showing rugs by Sanne De Wolf in cooperation with Berber woman. The exposition will be depicted by Bob Verhelst. Meet Sanne when you visit the store on October 25th.

The Campaign for Wool spoke to Sanne De Wolf about her work.

I am a visual artist. My artistic engagement lets me explore contemporary themes, fibres, connections and social structures. The focus in my work lies in the development of concepts and tools as mediation between the audience, art and heritage.

I incorporate (ethno)-historical patterns and translate them into contemporary work. I liaise between the present and history and tie different timelines and energies to each other. In my artistic process I try to make a synergy between matter and energy, art and working methods. The result expresses itself in sculpture, video-installations, performances and textiles.

In 2008 I started doing research about Berber women and textile art in Morocco. The exclusive collaboration from today is a result from years of research that focused on symbols, scripture and the way Berber woman use(d) lines in their work. The women are weaving according to authentic techniques and the tradition from the Beni Ouarain tribe rituals. The drawings and designs that are used in the wool rugs are a dialogue in different ways with respect for the local traditions. They are balancing between art and design.

• The project is based on three pillars: women, creation and connection:
• Women: to stimulate their power, recognition and independence
• Creation: re-thinking and re-using the knowledge from the ancestors and nature as our basic support.

Connection: a collaboration based on interaction between design, art and modern craftsmanship, nature, authenticity and sustainability.

A special thanks goes out to the female artists that co-realized these weaving dialogue. The colours that are used are the results of research and multiple experiments with extracts of plants and roots.

The Campaign for Wool in my opinion is of great importance for the tactile contact and the care of our natural life cycles. It is impossible not to be touched by the presence of the natural matter.

About Graanmarkt 13

Graanmarkt 13 is a house where each and every floor tells a story. Close to two theatres, you can enjoy design, fashion, art, culture and gastronomic delights. Tim and Ilse fell in love with the house and transformed it into a haven for those in search of special things with a soul. Everything on display has its own story. This time the story of Sanne De Wolf will be told in the gallery space on the first floor of Graanmarkt 13.