A life interwoven in tapestry

A wall hanging by Benedicte

"My life has been a tapestry both personally and in my work," says the low profile Benedicte. This sentiment is easily understandable. Each work captures her emotions of sadness and happiness and tells the story of her numerous voyages. For instance, one of her tapestries, which she began in Paris and finished in Kathmandu in 1992, uses old T-shirts of her children. Each of the colours tells its own tale. The predominant colours are purple, green, blue, yellow, pink, turquoise and others such as red, black and cream. As Benedicte says, "This work, Soul Searching, describes my feelings at that point of my life. The red symbolises happiness. Then there is a bleak colour (cream) and then is the sad part in black and grey and earthy colours. If you look at it from afar, it looks like an abstract work of art. If you look carefully enough, you will see a face in the tapestry."

There is another work with blues, whites and a few other colours. The period: her time in Kathmandu. This work is inspired by the mighty Himalayas and is embellished with what looks like a tree (actually a coral Benedicte found in Yucatan peninsula in Mexico). There's also a shrimp-like piece that is actually, in all probability, algae found on the Hua Hin beach in Thailand. Says Benedicte, "There is a lot of white, which could depict the snow, which I greatly miss." There are also what look like little houses--made from synthetic yarn.

Benedicte is nostalgic about her work. She has done around 12 pieces and estimates that it could take from three months to three years to complete a tapestry piece. However, one of her prized tapestries is based on an old painting of her then three-year-old daughter. This childlike work in mixed media (wool, cotton and old T-shirts) she says, depicts a bathtub.

Enriching her work are her frequent travels with her husband, who currently works with Unicef Bangladesh. The globe trotting couple has been to places like France, Nepal, US and Vietnam. "In the 25 years since I first began weaving tapestry, this art has become my survival kit," she says.