Frances vH Mohair Studio

Notes

In this woven tapestry work, we combined wild grass from the veld where the goats graze and wove these into a panel of delicate hand-spun mohair from the Karoo. This combing alludes directly to the circular and co-dependent existence of land, plants, and animals.

‘Veld Mappings’ unpicks the relationship between natural fibres, both animal and plant, and why they are so symbiotic in nature and in final fabrics. The animal eats the plant, and the plant is fertilised by the animal. The relationship between the two relies on natural elements and thoughtful, human management. This piece aims to deconstruct a label. Make us think about what fabric composition really means. So that we start to connect a tag indicating composition, e.g., mohair-linen or cashmere-silk, to an actual plant and animal species, and start acquiring insight into the fact that these threads stem from an environment that nurtures animals and plant life, preserves the soil, and supports a large community of actors that hold these fabrics together.

“This was our attempt in creating a textured palette of plant and animal fibre; a stripped back conversation which shares the story of the roots of our textiles, the beauty and sense of calm that we find in the natural world, and an ability to engage with it in our spaces of nesting.” - FvH.

Made collectively by women artisans in the Frances vH Mohair studio.