as a university teacher

Teaching at the university allows me to explore a subject in depth. I have designed different courses for students to learn about textiles and embroidery.
From a personal experience, I studied Textile in France, with a major in embroidery and a minor in tapestry; this experience profoundly influenced my perspective on art. I discovered the distinction between major arts and minor arts, now the so-called “arts and crafts”. This unfortunate hierarchy placed textiles as a sub form of art at the bottom of the ladder, neighboring domestic activities and hobbies. As I studied textile history, I realized textile, born with humanity along with founders’ myths, was present in every culture and greatly influenced the “major” arts. Another striking discovery was that textiles were a prominent form in the east until the west took over with painting and sculpture naming it “the beginning of art history”. My whole conception of art History was torn by an ethnocentric point of view.
After two years of studying textiles, I went on to study at the fine arts university. I used textiles to express the questions of identity, domesticity and hierarchy between sexes, professional activity and cultural background.
In 2005 I took on a two year long journey along the Silk Road to research textiles ancient traditions. It was an enlightening experience that confirmed my previous intuitions: the west had forgotten about its textile traditions while the east was still defined by it.
I design courses for students to learn about textiles and embroidery. One course aims to learn about the techniques and history of textiles, another course enquires the use of textiles in the contemporary world and the issues it might raise within it.