BACKGROUND

MA in Textile Design 

Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest, Hungary           

The love of fibres and textiles began at the age of ten, when I learned to sew, knit and embroider. By twelve, I knew I wanted to become an artist and follow in the footsteps of my father, Geza Samu, an accomplished, award-winning sculptor in Hungary. I chose to study woven textile design as a pathway to becoming a visual artist working with textiles. 

Halfway through my studies, I realised I wanted to master traditional textile-making techniques and push their boundaries by adapting them to create sculptural forms. Combining these techniques with unconventional materials, particularly wire, enabled me to shape the textile into forms beyond what traditional weaving allows.

 Since then, I have continued to explore the sculptural possibilities of textile, creating works that question the traditional divide between soft, pliable woven fabric and sculptures shaped from wood, stone, and metal. 

A large number of group and solo exhibitions in Australia and internationally

A large number of private and commercial  commissions

Winner of 5 large-scale public art grants as part of the "Art for Public Buildings Scheme" by the Tasmanian government

Finalist of the Art Textile Biennale,  VIC, Australia

Finalist of the Hobart City Art Prize, TAS, Australia

3 emerging artist awards, Budapest, Hungary

During my art school years in Hungary, I was greatly inspired by my study experience at the Helsinki Art and Design Academy through an Erasmus scholarship. I was introduced to alternative weaving materials such as metal wires, monofilaments, and paper yarns. I have been working with such materials ever since. 

After completing my MA in textile design in Hungary, I took an adventure-filled trip to Tasmania. The island's natural wonders had a profound effect on me, and after returning to Hungary, I created several artworks inspired by my travels. In 2001, I decided to move to Tasmania permanently. I was living in Hobart as a practising artist for a decade, during which my primary source of inspiration was the Tasmanian wilderness. The island was a wonderland of ocean waves, rugged cliff tops and soaring trees, all of which served to ignite my imagination.

I moved to Melbourne in 2012. My interest since then has gradually turned to more abstract and contemporary themes. Living in a multicultural metropolis has awakened my social sensitivity, and I have felt driven to express my thoughts and feelings on universal human rights, the fate of asylum seekers and the resilience of the human spirit. My compassion for positive social change has inspired the creation of conceptual and socially engaged mixed-media artworks. 

Odd shapes, subtle movements, and unique shades of colours often represent the starting point of my creative process. Interpreting the random designs of nature into my artworks helps me understand the wilderness and its unique environment. Instead of sketching ideas of what the eye sees, I follow the vision in my mind created by the playful encounter of natural elements and my imagination. 

Growing concern and interest in key contemporary social issues have gradually influenced a transition from interpretative art-making to a more conceptual form of expression. Part of this process is to interrogate and define the relationship between art and politics, in the sense of an internal artistic need to reflect on important social challenges of our time and to advocate for social change through art as an agency.