ROOTED BY ZENA HOLLOWAY Rooted is a celebration of conscious craft by Zena Holloway at de Le Cuona's flagship store, 44 Pimlico Road, Belgravia, London, SW1W 8LP. 9th to 27th May de Le Cuona Showrooms “de Le Cuona, textiles woven by the skill of man. Zena Holloway, grass root woven by nature.” Exploring the future of grown materials, craft, and art – Rooted showcases the synergies between Zena Holloway’s innovative sculptures and wall hangings grown from grass root woven by nature and de Le Cuona’s natural textiles woven from flax by the skill of man. Zena is a material innovator who cultivates sustainable sculpture from grass root to imagine a material world that is grown, not made. For Rooted, Zena has created pieces inspired by the organic colour palette of de Le Cuona's natural linen fabrics. de Le Cuona is renowned for its sustainable natural fabrics for interiors, and will showcase the latest collection Fabled Fibre and the Pure GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) collection during the event. MATERIAL INNOVATION Zena Holloway is a photographer, maker, and material innovator. She cultivates sustainable sculpture from grass root and in doing so takes an intuitive leap into the future to imagine a material world that is grown, not made. de Le Cuona is rooted in nature. Founder and CEO Bernie de Le Cuona grew up in South Africa and the natural world has always been at the heart of what she does. The soul of the company lies in the unique tactility of its interior textiles coupled with a deep commitment to sustainability and craftsmanship. In Rooted Zena pairs the delicate root structures of her textile art pieces with an experimental approach to natural pigments from madder and lac to cutch and gallnut to create stunning truly original pieces not seen before. About Zena Holloway Zena started her career as an underwater photographer and became increasingly concerned with the amount of plastic pollution in our oceans. It was then she came across the roots of a willow tree growing in her local river. The tangled root looked like textile and she asked herself: what if we could grow fabrics from seed? Inspired by an extraordinary imagination and a drive to make a difference Zena has pioneered a new technique of growing wheatgrass roots to form intricate textures and patterns. The plant sprouts over the course of about two weeks. As it grows, it produces its intricately woven root structure, which she guides into moulds carved from beeswax to form large, sheet-like textiles. With sustainability at the heart of the process, the ingredients are organic and locally sourced. Water is reused from run off and any leftover shoot, seed, or root is eaten as animal fodder. Entirely compostable, the material aims to increase awareness of natural materials and to inspire a more thoughtfully crafted, sustainable world. zenaholloway.com
