Sheila Hicks has come to understand that, in order to give a voice to the fascinating nature that she observed every day in South America, she would have to move away from painting and experiment with a new medium. She found it right in the heart of Pre-Columbian culture: weaving. Abandoning painting was the cause and consequence of a new approach that could not but result in a new medium. For painting dictates that color is placed onto and over the canvas, thereby obscuring it. A relationship of subordination, therefore, which to Sheila was unacceptable. A passion for thread dictates a completely different approach, which she was immediately attracted by. She appreciated its aesthetic power, but also its social, cultural and political role, one that links all the peoples of the world. Weaving is a common language, and it is an intimate one, devoid of the superfluous elements that characterize languages in use. It is no coincidence that weaving is rooted in nature itself. Before becoming artificial, the natural fibers of textiles are part of nature.
Francesca Minini
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