Felted reflections of the farm
- Christine creates sculptural felted seats
- She studied jewellery design before switching to fine art
- She held her first solo exhibition at Southern Guild in 2023
Christine Jacobs is a daughter of seventh-generation merino sheep farmers in the Xhariep District of the Southern Free State. "My imagination was shaped by the time I used to spend alone on the farm. The landscape became a source of interest and curiosity," she says. After completing her studies in Fine Arts, Christine worked at an interior design studio where she learnt how to upholster. Each sculptural seat begins as a small clay maquette, through which she resolves the form and develops the technical drawings along with a pattern for the felted surface. Then, Christine builds the steel structure, adding layers of fibreglass and upholstery foam. Finally, the hand felted woollen sheets are carefully applied, forming a seamless textural surface.
INTERVIEW
My work is a reflection of my connection to nature and the landscape. It evokes the feeling of being in a cocoon, feeling safe and close to the earth. Rooted in honesty and care, my pieces speak of custodianship, fragility and an enduring bond with the land.
As the youngest of five daughters, I was often left to play on my own, free to explore without restriction. With a wide open space around the house, my days were spent in imaginative play, building structures from hay bales and inventing a world of my own.
Yes, working with nature means I have to surrender some of the control I would usually have over materials. Because my work is large in scale, I must collaborate with the materials rather than fight against them.
Community is at the heart of my work, long before I begin, many hands raise and care for the sheep that provide the wool. The farm, my family and local craftspeople all the way from the Free State to the Western Cape, play a big role in the creation of my pieces.
