AUSTRIA - Janine is a textile artist in Austria who submitted this incredible work. Stitched on a vintage Singer sewing machine. The image of the chimpanzee was to be presented as a gift in honour of Dr. Jane Goodall, presented at an anniversary event in Vienna (since cancelled), where Dr. Goodall was to make a speech.

We love this work, and are thrilled that she submitted and has taken the time to speak about her process!

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From the artist, Janine Heschl

I have been asked by the Jane Goodall Institut - Austria (JGI-A) to create a portrait of a chimp in honor of the legendary Dr. Jane Goodall. The year 2020 marks the 60th anniversary of her extraordinary journey that started in Gombe National Park in Tansania, and in order to celebrate, an entire evening has been planned and organized including a lecture by Dr. Jane Goodall in Vienna this March. My portrait should have been both a gift to Dr. Goodall on that evening and a fundraiser for her lifetime project: the Jane Goodall Institute. 

The portrait is a photorealistic embroidery of a chimp living in Gombe National Park, stitched on a vintage Singer sewing machine. No paint, no digital transfer - just fabric and thread. A labour of love I would have liked to share with Dr. Goodall and I am hoping now to share with people online. Her message keeps inspiring me, and it is now more important than ever: 'Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference.‘(Dr. Jane Goodall).

Due to social distancing and obvious health concerns for Dr. Goodall, the event has been cancelled.

We here at the Festival asked Janine to tell us a bit about her process. Here’s what she said:

All my work starts out by choosing a suitable reference photo and creating a simple pencil sketch of it on white fabric. The outlines are then turned into a full fabric collage using batik fabrics mostly. I glue the pieces of fabric lightly onto my background with regular glue stick and then secure the collage with lose stitching, before I start embroidering. Realism comes in layers and that is how I work too - I add layer upon layer of thread to build up a texture and create depth. There are usually 4-6shades to each color to play with highlights and shadows and to create photorealism in thread. A portrait can take up to four months, depending on size and complexity of the subject.   

All my portraits are stitched with both a vintage Singer 107W102 sewing machine and a regular household machine to achieve the effects I am looking for.