See Me

Jacquard Weave.
Digital drawing by Kristina Austi on Photo by Viktoria Aas.
Materials: Wool.
Size: 198x154 cm
Year of production: 2022

My daughter Viktoria's portrait was woven in 2022. She had taken a selfie, and I painted a portrait of her looking at that photo. Then, I "merged" these two, combining the two perspectives. Finally, I brought the image to life by weaving it on the jacquard loom. The work is titled See Me.

The title reflects my introspection on the act of seeing—how even how I perceived my child felt like an act of "misunderstanding" or something I did "in the wrong way" in her eyes. To convey a sense of softness, I replaced the original grey background of the photograph with a gradient, adding warmth to it.

This piece is currently on display at the exhibition Avkom at Kunstgarasjen in Bergen until the 19th of January 2025.

Photographer of the work: Kristina Austi.