Sam Druant
Sam Druant: Nothing is original
Belgian artist Sam Druant earned her BFA in textile at the LUCA School of Arts in Ghent. She currently lives and works in Gothenburg. Tufted wool is her medium of choice, with which she creates humorous and playful-naughty textile tableaus that question and/or mock male dominance. She starts conversations about identity, desire and the complexity of our human existence, combining texture, colour and subject matter in striking artworks that embrace subjects with pertinent sexual innuendo and questions. She reveals herself equal parts brazen and provocative, using knitting needles and yarn to create a subconscious universe. Funny, naughty, bold, but above all very intelligent, given the philosophical concept underpinning her work.
The press kit for her first solo show in Antwerp included the quote "Nothing is original" by film director Jim Jarmusch, who believes that we should devour old films, new films, music, books, poems, dreams, conversations, lights and shadows because "authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent". Similarly, the artist assumes that we should internalise everything we see, hear, read and experience (both positive or negative) because it feeds our minds. Her work draws on this "gathering" methodology, collecting inspiration from texts, images, theories and conversations. Each source – whether good, bad, conscious or unconscious – is stored in what the artist calls her carrier bag, which is quite full. Her work offers a voyeuristic insight into her confusing and insinuating imagination, combining and weaving many voices into new stories or situations to present a refreshing take on the dominant narratives and ways of thinking that characterise our society.
Textile is often considered an inferior medium because it is associated with female labour in a domestic setting. But from a historical viewpoint, tapestries tell a fascinating story about the person who made it and the people for whom it was created. Textiles symbolise the weaving of experiences, stories and images into a new story, something Sam Druant does in a uniquely contemporary way, inspiring feelings and provoking thoughts with the kind of witticism that resonates.
The artist's feminist critique of the narratives of gender roles embedded in Western culture and the daily sexism women face is delivered with playful irony. She attempts to rewrite history and reality by questioning the dominant narrative while simultaneously updating it. Her work aims to spark a conversation about the perception of women, the male gaze, and prevailing binary hierarchical oppositions.
HW