Anni Rapinoja
A research page on Fibre Artist Anni Rapinoja, an inspiration for creating texture and natural forms using fibre.
Anni Rapinoja is a Finnish artist who aims to form connections and create new communities, which can create a unique and meaningful experience within.
Her work explores the processes of nature and its connection to humans by creating objects of desire, such as clothing, from natural fibres. Her work has themes of the rejection of mass production, and how we can be more sustainable with our clothing choices to connect to and look after the environment in which we live. The fibres in her work are all natural and are collected from the area she is from. These materials include swamp wool, lingonberry leaves, jujube leaves, willow, pine cones, plant seeds, animal bones and sand.
The piece creates a discussion on anthropocentrism, and creating work from unconventional 'clothing materials' challenges the idea of human dominance. Being 'swallowed' and enveloped by nature conveys the sense of restoration of nature and also creating a new bond between human and the landscape. The various textures represent each part of the environment, from forests, to rocks and fields. The piece resembles a map, not only of natural forms, but the landscape in which it was inspired by, or the materials were foraged. This context and way of thinking about her work has heavily inspired and informed my practice and material choices, by only using materials gathered from the Peak District.
Photographs and artwork by Anni Rapinoja
