LIILIAN SAKSI

The starting point for my artistic practice is raw wool, and hand spinning is my primary technique. I install the finished textile surfaces on walls or as freestanding constructions. These textile surfaces are variations on a recurring theme: the interactions between colours and the colours’ interaction with the wool. My working methods are based on self-determined limitations that alternate between intuitive and systematic decisions. In recent years I’ve worked a lot with the sprang technique. Sprang is a form of braiding that can be reminiscent of weaving, but instead of being built with warp and weft, the surface is made with one or more continuous threads. I stretch the strands of yarn to make them parallel, and row by row, hand-braid the strands into each other. A work grows from the middle outwards. I use wool from the sheep on my family’s farm in Sweden and from my own flock on the farm where I’ve lived and worked since 2020. My motivation is to have the art works be anchored in a life situation and particularly in relationships with other beings. This motivation stems from my interest in humankind’s relationships with animals and questions about the intrinsic value of animals.

Liilian Saksi (b. 1989 in Norrköping, Sweden) lives and works in Skotterud, in rural eastern Norway. She attended Oslo National Academy of the Arts (master’s degree, 2017). Past solo exhibitions include Sparebankstiftelsen DNB’s Grant Exhibition at Oslo Kunstforening, FLOCK at SOFT galleri in Oslo, and Mellan ting at Galleri Storck in Oslo. She has participated in group shows such as Wonderful Everyday at dotdotdot in Stockholm and UNiK mini/ Textile at Galleri Format in Oslo. Later in 2022, she will participate in a group show at the Royal Swedish Academy of Fine Arts in Stockholm and hold a solo exhibition at Kongsvinger Kunstforening.