Weaving together time and space
- Annette weaves large-scale pieces exploring landscape and the body
- She uses unconventional materials such as space blankets, VHS tapes and lighting gels
- Her immersive installations offer an experiential take on the craft
Growing up in Ojai, California, Annette Heully spent much of her childhood in her parents’ silkscreening and embroidery shop. “I was around textiles all the time, but it was not until my high school years, when a family friend gifted me a loom and a book on the craft, that I decided to pursue textile art,” she says. After drafting her own weaving patterns as a undergraduate at San Francisco State University, she pursued an MFA at California State University, Long Beach, and began weaving large-scale pieces. “I had been working on a much smaller scale, so being told, ‘here is a gallery, now fill it,’ was a real before-and-after moment,” she says. Annette has since created immersive woven pieces for New York’s Llewellyn Gallery and Los Angeles’ Craft in America, among others.
INTERVIEW
I created a large-scale weaving composed of stripped down Rosco film gels in sunset tones. No matter the time of day, the piece cast ambient light in vivid yellows, oranges and pinks. The piece aimed to freeze something ephemeral, a sunset, and answer the question, ‘What happens when we can hold this natural experience a bit longer?’
I am interested in how nature is reflected in our bodies, and how our bodies are part of nature. I would like my practice to connect to something bigger than myself.
Learn the rules really well so you can break them later. Also, recognise that weaving requires patience and tenacity. You have to really carve out the time to prioritise it.
While I love weaving larger pieces, I am interested in continuing to explore themes that interest me on a smaller scale.
