How would you define what you do?
I don’t like clichés and definitions at all. I don’t want to choose between craftsmanship and art. I try to bring the two worlds together in the most natural way. Tecnhical skills, design and the vision to realise objects which are artworks, define what I do.
What links art and craft for you?
Weaving is an unusual way to achieve visual outcomes, being a so-called applied art. I’ve wanted it to be a fully artistic language, beyond the functionality of objects, through the use of symbology, to convey concepts, also thanks to titles.
©Alessandra Freguja
What are your main sources of ispiration?
I embraced weaving after a journey to Mexico, where I found a vital tradition. From Buddhism, I learned to see how connected things are. The Japanese culture inspires me with its wisdom about emptiness and fullness, what is seen and unseen. And the whole plant kingdom.
Do you master any specific techniques?
I created a circular loom and I also use some cardboard cylinders to shape three-dimensional sculptures, in which the warp is made of metal threads (similar to basketry). Three-dimensional works could play a major role in renewing this craft.