Detail of Fantasia (2023). All artwork photos by Kristine Funch, courtesy of the artist, shared with permissionSigne Emdals Chromatic Weavings Manifest Wonder and JoyFebruary 10, 2025ArtCraftKate MothesTwenty years ago, Signe Emdal founded a business that focused on making unique textile objects and garments, drawing on her background in jacquard weaving, fabric printing, and a range of other techniques. By 2021, though, she was feeling hemmed in and longed for a way to express herself through a more intuitive, less functional creative direction.It was time to free myself from a frame I no longer fit and make a new one, she tells Colossal. I had no idea what the new frame would look like, but I trusted that life would bring me something better if I said goodbye to a setup that didnt bring me joy anymore.Maison (2023)A self-described textile composer, Emdal views the loom as a window where warp and weft interact to create storage vessels for memories. She is also deeply influenced by exploring new locations. Art allows me to travel in a completely new way because I get to be in a creation process while spending time with or (being) in other cultures, she says. Many works she makes on-site, influenced by her surroundings.Process is central to Emdals artistic education and continues to be the primary influence in her practice. Everything is process, and everything is changing all the time, she says. Nothing is ever going to be finished! She shares that through textiles, she learned to hone her concentration on both physical and metaphysical levels, finding that the meditative methodology of weaving echoes how she views art-making and life more broadly.Emdals related series Touch and Loop comprise sculptural, loom-woven wool in vibrant colors. From radiating puffs of vibrating color to elegant, draping details, her pieces are inspired by science fiction, feminism, art history, and music. The sculptures are layers of delicate memories, she says, embodying fragility, resilience, sophistication, and joy.Emdals work will be included in the Textile Art Biennial Slovenia, which runs from May 31 to August 14 across five cities. Find more on Emdals website and Instagram.Dreams of Gaia (2024)Detail of Dreams of GaiaHeart of Nebula (2024)Fantasia (2023)Acqua 4 ever/Evigheden (2024)Spirit of Green (2024)Detail of Spirit of GreenMurex 4ever (2023)Silky Way (2023)Next article