WORDS Lindi Brownell Meiring IMAGES via aheneah.com
Portuguese artist and designer Ana Martins (aka Aheneah) creates cross-stitch street artworks using a combination of digital and analogue techniques and embroidery.
Aheneah is inspired by what she learned from her grandmother, together with the design knowledge she gained while studying Graphic Design. She aims to “deconstruct, decontextualise and transform a traditional technique into a modern graphic, connecting cultures and generations”, according to her website.
Located in Ana’s home town in Portugal, Switch-over is a recently completed project that made use of 700 metres of yarn and 2 300 screws. “Every day, for many years, thousands of kids pass by this wall while going from home to school and from school to home,” says Ana. “Most of the time just floating in their thoughts, lost in space, time and routine. Until their paths have to change directions. This happened to me a few years ago.”
Another recent project is Perception, which saw Ana scale down her larger street artworks into a limited-edition range of wooden sculptures, featuring embroidered wool.
