Sawatou Mouratidou – Felt and Fiber Artist
Sawatou Mouratidou is an internationally active textile artist with Greek roots who now lives in Vienna.
Trained in fibre arts at the University of Washington in the United States and further developed through advanced training with renowned artists, Mouratidou has been working under her label ‘Sawatou Fiber Artist’ since 2006.
Human psychology and the exploration of it serve as the starting point for her current work. In addition to her artistic work, she is involved in promoting textile art as a lecturer, organiser, curator, networker and head of the textile art section of the Professional Association of Visual Artists in Austria.
Statement
My current work revolves around the theme of ‘Anthropos – Being Human’: living together in different cultures and the question of how these experiences shape our lives. My figures embody the traces of life – shaped by decisions, relationships and challenges.
What connects the figures is less their outward appearance than their shared, substantial humanity, which takes on a special warmth and vulnerability in the medium of wool.
Belonging arises from within and manifests itself in the diverse, visible and invisible interweaving of the fibres – a symbol of social and emotional connections.
The textile representation reflects the emotional dimensions of life, invites reflection on one’s own life journey and addresses the deep connection between the past, present and future. Wool thus becomes not only a material, but also a metaphor for development, change and the continuous weaving of our own life threads.
Founding member of the Wollmodus association, initiator and founding member of the Maurer Werkstätten, curator of the Craft-Art-Fusion project, organizer of Kunst im Handwerk.
Head of the textile department of the Association of Professional Artists of Austria, member of European Textile Network (ETN).