Sofia Sefraoui Fife, United Kingdom

• 
• 

  Back to profiles Invite to apply

My work investigates both the uses of fabrics and the processes of making clothes. Sofia's work always revolved around the concepts of cultural exchanges and trade. Her work always looked at past events and their present consequences. Her research often draws from anthropology and sociology.

Sofia's work always revolved around the concepts of cultural exchanges and trade. Her work always looked at past events and their present consequences. Her research often draws from anthropology and sociology. She developed an interest in rituals, and how fabric is used during these events. As an example, in ancient times, Egyptians used linens in everyday clothing, but the shrouds employed to wrap corpses and mummify them were sacred. From collecting either vegetable or animal fibres, to combing, cleaning, drying, spinning and weaving them, making fabric is a lenghty process. It is this very process and the importance of fabric trade that influenced our language. Sofia is attentive to the link between fabric and language. It led her to reflect on how fairytales and mythologies refer to fibres, cloths and women's hair.

Greek mythology mentions three sister godesses: the Fates, also know as Moirai. They were believed to control and design each individual's life and would visit every child shortly after its birth. Each one of the sisters had an important role; Clotho spun the thread of life, Lachesis measured it, and Atropos cut it. Their decisions were final. The Moirai represent life throught thread. From language, to text and textile - both derived from the Latin word texere, meaning: weave, plaite or construct with care - the making of cloths influenced the way we speak and relate to others. From being a part of the social fabric, to crossing lines or having one's life hanging by a thread, ''Fabric and its component parts have long been a figurative stand-in for the very stuff of human life''(Kassia St Clair, The Golden Thread, How Fabric Changed History, Introduction, p.1).

Fabric has evolved since ancient times. We now produce other materials - such as bubble wrap, tape or emergency blankets - known to be lighter, more compact and more efficient than fabrics. Their purpose, however, is the same. Fabric is still a necessity. We need to protect ourselves, to express ourbelonging, to make a political stance. Sofia's interest in fabric lays within the concepts of care and heritage, as it's a material that holds both history and purpose.