Nina Kruger
Felt maker
Franschhoek, South Africa
A new life for overlooked fibres
- Nina works with natural and organic materials to create felted, sculptural forms
- She blurs the line between human, animal and plant life
- Her outdoor sculpture Shifting Shadows was made from 6,000 eucalyptus gumnuts
Nina Kruger uses dry felting to bind gathered fibres with animal fleece or netting to create entirely new materials. "I always knew I wanted to be an artist," she says. “As a shy person, it was easy to express myself through art, without using words." After completing a BA in fine arts at the University of Pretoria, she spent six years in the commercial textile industry before enrolling in an MA programme in textile and fibre arts at the Magdalena Abakanowicz University of the Arts Poznań in Poland in 2021. Nina studied under fibre artist Anna Goebel, an apprentice of Magdalena Abakanowicz, who became a key inspiration to her work. Her process is a collaboration with nature that elevates overlooked and discarded plant matter into tactile sculptures.
INTERVIEW
The first fibre artwork I made in Poland was the catalyst for what I make today. It was made from plants I collected on the street. It seemed to be both growing and decaying. This tension still exists in my work today.
I won the Second Merit Award at the 2015 Absa L'Atelier Art Competition. The prize was a residency in Germany. It was the first time I went overseas alone, and I realised how big this world is. It inspired me to pursue my master's degree in Europe.
My process involves a lot of preparation, material investigation and meditation. I collect materials while I am out in nature, keeping in mind the environment during the process. I put the materials together in different ways and make samples, which grow in size or multiply.
As artists, we should not be afraid of technological advancements and AI. It is an opportunity for us to reinvent ourselves, just as photography gave us the chance to develop abstract art. I am excited to enter an era where handmade objects are going to become more important.
Nina Kruger
Felt maker
Franschhoek, South Africa
ADDRESS
Address upon request, Franschhoek, South Africa
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
English, English
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