Rakhee Shenoy specialises in woven textiles for interior spaces, with a background in multidisciplinary textiles and experience in the industry. Her work focuses on ethical production, with weavers from India. She explores new possibilities on the loom, both handloom and jacquard to make her textile designs. She looks forward to collaborating with designers and strategically applying her skills in developing textiles. PROJECT DESCRIPTION Nature to Weave is a collection of tapestries and prints inspired by the complexity of colour, texture and form in landscapes. Exploring the abstract forms and colour through watercolour washes and digital drawings, helped translate the journey from image to tactile tapestry. An array of dyed yarns is spun together to mimic the medley of shadow and depth. The unexpected visibility of certain colours from the spun yarn plays the role of informing the unruly depiction of texture. These handwoven tapestries are made using cotton yarn, which embodies ease and diversity as a material. This project was conceptualised and executed during the lockdown in India along with traditional Indian weavers. The tapestry on the folding chair was woven directly on the back of the chair, mimicking a frame loom.

ABOUT WORKING DURING THE PANDEMIC After the pandemic broke out, I had to rush back to my home country, having left my thesis project back at uni, I had to work on a new thesis project to graduate. This got me thinking about how the pandemic had affected others in my field, mainly weavers. I got in touch with local weaving community in Bangalore, India who had stopped production due to the unforeseen circumstances. I engaged in a skill sharing programme with the weavers, where they taught me how to operate a traditional counter march loom and I taught them tapestry weaving skills which I picked up at the royal college.