Weaving Workshop with Jeanny Bouwen

28.05.2024
Atelier De Ratelaar, Geel (BE)

Any invitation to submerge in the rhythm of basketweaving, should start with a moment to acknowledge the basket weavers livelihood. For over 20 years Jeanny Bouwen has lived her life alongside a multitude of willow species, at the fringes of the nature-cultural landscape of the Mosselgoren nature reserve. 
We submerged into a subtle dance around the willow’s lifeworld, studying growth patterns and their reaction to stress due to the Anthropocene’s consequences. 

In the weaving workshop that followed, individual encounters with dried willow alternated with collective gestures of making. Four, six and ten hands finding their rhythm with the wet willow fibers, moving with and alongside each other, knotting together a gestural conversation. Questions emerged on the value of indigenising our practice, leading up to the Decolonial Craft reading group on December 3rd, 204.

Workshop initiated by Breg Horemans, building upon a longstanding collaboration with Jeanny Bouwen, as part of his PhD research.