Joana Schneider (1990), born in Munich and currently living and working in The Netherlands, is a newly graduate from the Textile & Fashion department at the Royal Academy in The Hague.
Drawing her inspiration from the fishermen and net makers has allowed her to appropriate and dig into textile techniques that are deeply rooted in this field of labour. She spent many hours studying the techniques used in the netting industries in Katwijk and translating them into contemporary textile techniques. The net makers became her teachers, mentors and sponsors of the materials. Exploring the possibilities and pushing the boundaries of working with rope has made her urge to work on a large scale, to create dramatic, theatrical environments with powerful symbolism and face shapes, which led to the development of the Totem series.
Winner in 2018 of the "Keep an Eye Textile & Fashion Award" from the Royal Academy The Hague
This video shows the process of Joana Schneider de- and re-contextualizing materials and techniques from the harbour in Schevingen. Environmental consciousness is key to her designs, therefore she only works with postconsumer yarns as well as collected material that are reprocessed for her use.