Cloth (tzute) 1940

This cloth, or tzute, was made by Maya artists, and it’s got such a great surface to it. It feels really handmade, you can see the process. The overall effect is of these bold, confident vertical lines and colours. You can see these vibrant reds and dark greens, that feel rich and full of life, almost juicy. Zoom in close and you see these slightly imperfect lines, the way the threads come together, that reveals so much about the process of creation. It’s physical. You feel the hand of the maker in every stitch. The fringe at the bottom adds this element of playfulness and movement. For me, it brings to mind the work of artists like Sheila Hicks, who also use textiles in really innovative ways. It makes you think about art as this ongoing conversation, like, the way ideas get passed on and reinterpreted. And that's the magic of art, it's not about fixed meanings, but about opening up possibilities.