Ismini Samanidou

I work as a textile designer and artist and focus on weaving for exhibitions, commissions and site specific installations. I also lecture on textile design at University College Falmouth in Cornwall and across the UK.

I have completed commissions for the Worshipful Company of Weavers, Allen & Overy and most recently was selected for the prestigious Jerwood Contemporary Makers 2009. I work across digital industrial weaving and hand weaving often collaborate with other designers and makers on extending the way textiles can exist within a space.

on weaving

I use weave to describe the world around me. The information I collect attempts to capture the impermanence and beauty of the everyday; evidence of decay seen in architectural surfaces, peeling paint on walls, weathered landscape, natural surfaces, macro images of plants, even weaving itself. By closely examining and analyzing this information I then reconstruct it in woven form. I am fascinated by the construction methods of woven fabrics, and by the way textiles can exist within a space. My wall hung fabrics reference the historical use of textiles within architectural spaces both as decoration and practical insulation.

Narrative is a strong element in the work and often the weaving relates to a paticular place, becoming a site-specific piece. I am principally interested in traditional textiles from different cultures, and the stories that are hidden within them. I am fascinated by the way woven textiles can cross historical and geographical boundaries and remain a common language and means of expression.

I often draw references from my cultural background, Greek traditional fabrics being an endless source of inspiration. In Crete red silk thread was used by the girls to stitch their dowries together before the wedding day to protect them from the evil eye. After my Greek textile heritage, all my work is signed with red silk thread with my initials in the Greek alphabet.

I was brought up in Athens by a family with strong scientific and craft professional interests. In my weaving I combine science and craft, and the technical preparation stages of making a fabric are as important to me as the creative and making process.

Work in progress:

I am currently working on a series of textile pieces describing clouds and will be exhibiting a textile installation at the Warp and the Weft exhibition in the UK later in the year.

In May 2010 I will be exhibiting at the prestigious 13^th Tapestry Triennial in Lodz, Poland, as one of 4 artists selected to represent Britain. http://www.muzeumwlokiennictwa.pl/EN/index.htm

to see the work I created for the Jerwood Contemporary Makers Exhibition 2009 visit www.isminisamanidou.com

below is a series of work examples