Wouna le Roux

Iwi
Pākehā.
I whānau mai, i tupu ake ahau i Āwherika ki te Tonga. I hūnuku ki Aotearoa i te tau 2010. E noho ana ki Te Papaioea.
I was born and raised in South Africa, moved to New Zealand in 2010 and live in Palmerston North.

My work investigates the role of liminality in textiles art-making. Rituals, borders, boundaries, rites of passage (the three-phase concepts of loss, change and ‘found’), with particular emphasis on the liminal in-between phase where change or transformation takes place, are important themes in my research. This in-between phase is characterised by uncertainty, unease, ambiguity, a sense of being betwixt and between, neither here nor there. 

Studying the work of other artists, and particularly textile artists, it became evident that symbols indicating loss, detachment, transition, ambiguity are often found thematically in the work of boundary-crossing artists. Whether it be migrants, or someone dealing with any other form of boundary-crossing or loss, this ‘waiting’ phase where change and transformation takes place, is often represented in their work. Similarly, multiracial, and gender diverse individuals, are equally ‘cast aside’, marginalised, outsiders, often with a sense of not-belonging. Artists in this category also often use these metaphors in their work. 

As a migrant I have a keen appreciation for the liminal phase, of being in ‘limbo’, neither here nor there. The sense of loss and outsidership is important. As this ‘state of being’ is characterised by ambiguity, rituals (going back to the study of ancient cultures by the likes of Arnold van Gennep and Victor Turner), uncertainty and loss, where the trickster plays an important role, my art practice explores these themes metaphorically by using textiles as an art medium. 

Textiles, specifically second hand or discarded clothes and found fabrics, are the media I predominantly works with. By reusing and reworking the textiles into artworks, these items no longer possess their previous character; they undergo a transformation to be ‘reborn’ and get a new lease of life.

The materials – buttons, zips, seams, hems, the weave, or knitting, yarn, thread, etc – are themselves metaphors for, on the one hand; protection, and on the other hand; exposure. Between these two extremes there is also the concept of change, transformation, alteration, modification, metamorphosis, reconstruction, remoulding, mending – the in-between phase of the process of rituals – where concepts like protection, masking, veiling, ‘invisibility’, shape-shifting, come into play. 

As a tool to heal and repair, fabrics and textiles also hold significant symbolic meaning in ritual and liminality, which are perceived as sacred. For the artist, these rituals include finding materials, the making process of experimenting, do-undo-redo, the ritual process of exhibiting – a rite of passage in its own right, the gallery space, and the curator and critics who can be seen as the sacred leaders to provide guidance, and the interaction with other artists (communitas). During the making process, the rhythm and repetitive hum of a sewing machine, the sound of thread being pulled through fabric, the clicking of knitting needles, etc, are ritualistic by nature.