Anna explains the inspiration behind her textile installation for Madrid Design Week

(English translation at end)

Woven City will be created in the Palacio de Santa Barbara on 8 February as part of Rasgos Intangibles

Woven City es la instalación de Anna Champeney creada in-situ para Madrid Design Festival al Palacio de Santa Barbara, en Madrid, 9-18 de febrero 2023.

Se abre al público, como parte de un expo del colectivo SACo, en colaboración con Mazda, para Madrid Design Festival 2023.

La intención de la instalación es la creación de un paisaje urbano en miniatura, convertiendo un “cityscape” dura, y sin parques o árboles, lejos del mundo natural, en algo reconfortante y suave.  Así, también, es una metáfora para las cualidades sanodras de la artesanía y la naturaleza, y el tejido como metáfora de la sociedad, y la vida en sí.

Los colores, inspirados en paletas de tintes naturales, recuerda los paisajes y estaciones de la Ribeira Sacra, Galicia, donde Anna vivia y trabajaba durante más de 20 años.

La colección de plaids de lana merina, Blok, Bump y Optic Stripe, de Anna Champeney están a la venta durante la exposición, en la tienda PopUp en el Palacio de Santa Barbara, junto a otros productos de diseño artesanal de calidad de miembros de SACo.

English translation:  Woven City is the installation by Anna Champeney, to be created in situ for Madrid Design Week at the Santa Barbara Palacio in Madrid later this week. 

It will open to the public as part of the group show, Rasgos Intangibles, a collaboration between SACo and Mazda, between 9-18 February 2023.

The intention behind the installation is to create a miniature cityscape, with soft merino wool replacing concrete and steel; the desire to bring a softness to urban landscapes that can feel unrelentingly harsh.  In turn, this becomes a metaphor for the healing qualities of craft and weave, of the unique satisfaction inherent in the act of creating with hands and mind working together.  

Brutalist architecture and the typical post-war high-rise estates which symbolised rapid urban expansion – as much in London as in Madrid – then became unpopular and dysfunctional.

Anna´s Woven City re-imagines the typical architecture of mid-century and 1960s urban arquitecture, with colours recalling the natural dyes and landscapes of Galicia, where she lived and worked until 2020.

Anna´s signature collection of throws, comprising 3 designs, Blok, Bump and Optic Stripe, which mirror the installation, are available for sale to customers in Spain, the rest of mainland Europe and the USA.