TRANSCENDING GENRES
My professional career started with a textile design degree. This degree laid the foundation for my creative work and still influences my work as a photographer, lecturer and creative director. For me, weaving is a metaphor for the interplay of different genres.
I actually wanted to study fashion design, but then decided on textile design after I didn't get a place at the HETZENDORF FASHION SCHOOL in Vienna. Sometimes things don't go as planned and life takes a new and exciting turn. Through my textile design studies at the TECHNIKUM REUTLINGEN, I learned to perceive fashion differently, to understand it from the outset. During the one-year internship at ERBA AG, seeing, experiencing and learning how a textile fabric is made in 20 departments opened my eyes to the processes in the textile industry and also sensitized me to the tough working conditions. Working in a weaving room that's as noisy as a plane taking off, or seeing tons of the most toxic chemicals being used in a dyeing works sharpened my perspective on the fashion industry in general. It became more than clear to me how privileged the people at the end of the production chain are. And how much work, effort and passion goes into fashion. How many resources it consumes and how beautiful and exciting it still can be. And how precious.
A Rorschach inspired current textile design for a jacquard fabric. I still have my training as a dessinateur and jacquard weaver in my blood.