Yolandé Gouws is a South African artist and curator living and working in Berlin.
Her poetic works reference weaving and architecture, reminding us of the origins of culture in craft and community.
She believes in the interconnectedness of all things, from single threads to the multiverse.
Her poetic works reference weaving and architecture, reminding us of the origins of culture in craft and community.
She believes in the interconnectedness of all things, from single threads to the multiverse.
Background
Yolandé Gouws has a Masters degree in architecture and qualified under Sam Chermayeff and Johanna Meyer Grohbrügge.
She went on to work as an exhibitions designer, curator and producer for Olafur Eliasson, Alicja Kwade, and Fotografiska Berlin.
In 2018 she spent two months at an art residency in a remote village in Japan. This experience affected her deeply and moved her to pursue her own art practice.
With French Hugenot origins, she feels deeply inspired to continue the craft of weaving of her ancestors.
At the core of her practice is the expression of peace: her works are meditative and calm, and all materials are responsibly sourced. The silk used in her work is Ahisma, peace silk: the moths are allowed to escape from the cocoons before the cocoons are used. As such there are many imperfections in the thread where it is joined. All works are purely handmade and unique.