Tentacular Objects

A series of embroidered paintings; digital and hand embroidery, pigment, ink, watercolour, oil, linen, 2021-

Tentacles, vines, roots, yarn: systems of connection that are tangled or knitted together; knots. The Tentacular Objects series of embroidered paintings explore webs on a fundamental level, webs as a concept. The work is concerned with networks - from the digital to ecosystems, networks of kinship and mycelium, social networks and the collective consciousness. It centres the vast complexity of systems and intertwined forces at play rather than singling out and elevating individuals.

This ongoing series fits into a long-standing interest in my practice in networks - be they human, non-human, cybernetic, fungal, or social - and on a critical reflection of the power hierarchies underlying advancing technologies. The merging of technology and textiles reflects an approach to techno-social commentary that rejects the ever-increasing accelerationism in which most discourse about technology today is steeped.

"Gretta Louw refuses a simple classification, her artistic practice is rather an exercise in systemic thinking, a combination of disciplines and a breaking of narrow art historical categories."
- Anabel Roque Rodriguez, independent curator and writer