Vanessa Barragão’s Upcycled Tapestries

WORDS Lindi Brownell Meiring IMAGES vanessabarragao.com

Portugal-based textile artist Vanessa Barragão uses leftover thread from the textile industry to create mesmerising tapestries and rugs inspired by the ocean and coral reefs.

For Vanessa, it’s important to combat the negative environmental impact of the textile industry, which makes use of chemicals and produces large amounts of waste, not only impacting the ocean, but increasingly threatened coral reefs. Using leftover stock from local factories, Vanessa employs techniques such as latch hooking, knitting, crocheting, felting and macramé to make her pieces.

Her latest project, entitled Coral Garden, is made up of one rug and two tapestries, and is directly influenced by the impact global warming is having on coral reefs.

Coral Garden

To view more of Vanessa’s work, visit vanessabarragao.com or follow her on Instagram.

(h/t) thisiscolossal.com