Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 28
Occupation: Textile artist and developer.
Instagram: @sinadyks
Hometown: The Hague.
Studio location: The Hague.
Describe what you make: I make unique textile artworks that bring spaces to life in unexpected ways. I’m really interested in experimenting with recycled PET yarns to push traditional boundaries of material innovation, use of color, and creative exploration in this medium.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: Liberty Unfettered Release is the largest work I’ve created, and had a lot of special significance for me. The Stedelijk Museum Alkmaar called on contemporary artists to reimagine the theme of “freedom,” and my piece Liberty, Unfettered Release was chosen by both the museum and public to be realized, which made it really special. The piece plays with the imagination of the free spirit—it’s a larger-than-life tapestry that employs a specially developed weaving technique to give the threads free space, creating a special three-dimensional effect. I spun yarns specifically for this artwork from threads donated by the residents of Alkmaar that were processed together in the fabric. This was a really thrilling realization of the idea of community to me, where people could see a piece of their lives and their neighbors woven together in a single, monumental work.
Describe the problem your work solves: My work aims to create something compelling and beautiful, but also to address sustainability challenges inherent to the field of textiles. By using recycled PET yarns in these intricate, large-scale works, I’m proposing an ethically responsible solution to the ecological impact of textile production.
Describe the project you are working on now: A new collection of textile artworks that are really around the idea of energy, momentum, and physicality—what an explosion of energy feels like, and how you can translate that from one object, one person, to another. I’m also working on two commissioned projects, one for an architect’s private house and another for a hotel.
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: Five new editioned tapestries that will be on view for the first time at Salon Design in New York this May. These pieces were inspired by the theory of Shivani Khetan, an expressive arts therapist, and are designed to stimulate the senses and encourage reflection on how color and texture influence our mood and enrich our perspective on the world.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: An industrial loom (the dream) and beautiful yarns.
What you do when you’re not working: Crossfit, going to the beach, and seeing friends.
Sources of creative envy: Nature and all its beautiful colors and structures.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Limiting beliefs and unhealthy habits.
Concrete or marble? Marble.
High-rise or townhouse? Townhouse
Remember or forget? Remember.
Aliens or ghosts? Ghosts.
Dark or light? Light.
Portrait by Roel Backaert.
