Jessica Hemmings ✿ A very worldly weaver of words

Jessica Hemmings’ biography encompasses most corners of the globe. Her prodigious academic output is matched by her curiousity about how we weave meaning together in different parts of the wider world.

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Jessica Hemmings is a British academic, writer, and researcher specialising in textiles and contemporary craft. Born in Wales and raised in Indonesia and the United States, she holds a BFA in Textile Design from the Rhode Island School of Design, an MA in Comparative Literature from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh. Hemmings is currently Professor of Craft at HDK-Valand, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, and Professor II at the Oslo School of Architecture & Design, Norway. Her research explores the cultural significance of textiles, postcolonial literature, and the contributions of craft to contemporary society, with a particular interest in regions such as Indonesia and Zimbabwe. She has authored and edited several influential books, including Warp and Weft, The Textile Reader, and Cultural Threads, and has curated international exhibitions such as “Migrations.” Hemmings is also active on editorial boards for leading journals in the field and has held visiting and honorary academic positions in Australia, Ireland, the Netherlands and Hungary. Current research is funded by the Swedish Research Council (2025-2027) under the title “Carceral Craft: the material of oppression or expression?”.

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✿ What do you look for in a subject when writing a story?

Much of my writing focuses on practices that have yet to receive much attention. There is a large portion of serendipity involved – exhibition reviews, for example, often occur when I am travelling for other reasons.

✿ What writers have inspired you?

I wrote my PhD on the late Zimbabwean author Yvonne Vera. Her writing continues to fascinate me.

✿ Can you say something about where you are located, including a favourite spot?

I work in Gothenburg (Sweden), Oslo (Norway) and Budapest (Hungary). I live near Malaga (Spain). My favourite spot is running in the Parque Natural de Sierras de Tejeda, Almijara y Alhama.

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Sahlah Davids: Amatie - Jessica Hemmings reviews an exhibition about the material culture of the Cape Malay.

Otobong Nkanga ✿ Soap stacks of the wider world - Jessica Hemmings reviews Otobongo Nkanga's exhibition of soap with the help of a novel by Teju Cole.

David Escalona ✿ Life under wraps - Jessica Hemmings writes about drawings by a Spanish artist that reflect a fraught violence.

Miquel Barceló ✿ Metamorphosis - Jessica Hemmings reviews an exhibition by Majorcan artist Miquel Barceló of monumental and metamorphic ceramic works.

Masks: Metamorphosis of Modern Identity at the Museo Carmen Thyssen in Málaga, Spain - Jessica Hemmings reviews Spain's Masks exhibition and finds that our current masked condition has profound historical resonance.

Jessica Ogden: Still - Jessica Hemmings reflects on an innovative fashion exhibition involving an autobiographical display based on a curatorial conversation between the artist and designer Jessica Ogden and Professor Carol Tulloch.