Adrienna Matzeg: The Scenic Route
Adrienna Matzeg is at the creative crossroads of photography and textiles, where the narrative power of both mediums intersects. Through her punch needle embroidery compositions, she explores the way we recall memories, often drawing on themes of nostalgia. By simplifying her subject matter into bold colours, shapes, and fragments, Matzeg delves into how our memories of travel are formed, and how we tie them to the souvenirs collected along the way.
Petiscos, 2024
Her latest collection, The Scenic Route, encapsulates the essence of summer road trips through Canada’s East Coast. Using her own travel photography as a springboard, Matzeg transforms fleeting moments into richly textured textile compositions. For her, it’s about capturing and preserving the emotional texture of a place, not just the landscape.
Matzeg’s work is rooted in both analog and digital processes, where the digital realm meets the tactile, hands-on nature of textiles - from planning compositions in Illustrator to selecting the perfect blend of colours, ensuring each piece holds the essence of its inspiration.
Lake Como (detail), 2020
Nostalgia, warmth, and the subtle impermanence of summer memories are imbued into her meticulous process, inviting us to pause and reflect on how we remember places, and the feeling of being there.
We caught up with Adrienna in our 5 Minutes with a Friend series, to find about her love for the medium of textiles:
Adrienna at work in her studio.
Adrienna, what is your first memory of a textile?
My first memory of a textile was a pastel pink baby blanket. It was soft fleece, with a satin border edge. I took it everywhere with me as a toddler. I haven’t thought about that blanket in years.
Can you put into words what you love about textiles?
What I love about textiles is the ability to make something 3d out of something rather 2d, and the endless possibilities that come along with that. It’s a medium that can take on endless forms and interpretations.
Mementos (detail), 2023
Where is your most inspiring space or place to create?
I get inspired when I’m out in the world, seeing new places, having new experiences, or doing things that I love. I’m motivated to make textiles when I get back to my home studio. I work from home next to a big window.
Aperitif, 2023
What has inspired you recently?
Honestly I get most of my inspiration from seemingly mundane moments, for example I was driving in Florida on a recent trip and kept passing Waffle House. That, in combination with my love of greasy spoon restaurants, inspired me to create a series based on diner food.
At The Look Off, 2024
What is your most cherished textile, and why?
I have some beautiful heirlooms passed down from my grandma. A have a couple silk scarves that are hand printed with hand rolled edges.
Where did you learn your craft?
I studied both photography and textiles at NSCAD University, but I learned the punch-needle medium on my own, during the Covid 19 lockdown. It was a struggle to learn a new medium, having to order all the supplies online.
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Further Information:
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Image Credits:
Lead Image: Left- The Afterglow, 2024, Right - Catch of the Day, 2024.
All Images courtesy of Adrienna Matzeg