Designer, Textile Designer, Visual Artist

Yael Sages Wahlström

SWEDEN

I am a textile maker, designer, and creator who mainly works with vintage and repurposed fabrics and uses the Swedish textile heritage to create my deeply personal work.

Since 7 October 2023 and the terrible massacre of Israelis, the Jewish and Israeli expression in my work has taken a much bigger place. The feeling of being threatened and the sorrow we feel as a people, but also the pride and joy of our culture, our traditions and our country, have deepened my craft, which has taken a new direction.

To be cancelled by friends, colleagues, event managers and podcasters in the spaces where I used to work has made my advocacy for the Jewish people and Israel, through my art and creativity, even stronger.

What are you making right now?

I'm working on a bigger textile art piece that was started during the count of Omer. Every day I stitched a little piece and meditated on the word for the day, my feelings around it, my identity, what we are going through as a people, the hardships and the joys. Now these pieces are going to be joined with stitched words and phrases that were in my mind during the count of Omer. I have also worked for a longer time on my embroidery piece called The Lions of Judah and Persia. Israel, the Jewish people and the Iranian people, united by love and shared values, know how devastating Islamism is, in all its forms. I posted the embroidery on Instagram and was overwhelmed by all the love and expressions of community I received from so many Iranians. It confirmed how much we are in this together, how our struggle for survival is the same and how much we understand each other. It turned out that it gave hope to many more than just me. Always working on new and unique Challah covers, hand-embroidered and matched with unique vintage fabrics.

What medium do you work in and what drew you to it?

Textiles, preferably vintage, embroidery, sewing

If you could spend an hour with anyone you admire, living or dead, who would it be and what would you ask them?

I wish I could spend some time with my paternal grandmother. She was a living history, full of stories, culture, knowledge and love. I would ask her about the story of her giving flowers to the visiting Kaiser Wilhelm as a child in Istanbul and what she felt; how she felt as a mother when the Nazis were approaching; and about the beautiful Magen David that she used to wear, which I inherited and that now gives me so much strength.

What do you need in your workspace to spark creativity?

I surround myself with objects that speak to me, often vintage heritage: heirlooms and works of art made by friends and family. They remind me that I’m not alone, that we are in this together, and it both inspires me and gives me further strength to keep going.

What would you like people to understand about your work?

I hope people see that my work is about memory, identity, hope and joy through textiles. By working with vintage and repurposed fabrics, I connect Swedish textile heritage with Jewish history, tradition and contemporary experience. Since 7 October 2023, my art has become a way of responding to grief, resilience and the determination to be a proud, strong and very visible Jew. Every stitch is an act of remembrance, resilience and pride. I also want people to see the power of connection: between the Jewish and Iranian people, between Jews and non Jews who see our reality and share the same values. If my textiles help someone feel less alone, inspire hope, or encourage understanding, then they have fulfilled their purpose.

Has your identity, culture, heritage, or community influenced your creative practice?

As you have seen from previous answers, almost all my work is now influenced by and about my Jewishness, Jewish peoplehood, heritage and Jewish joy. Every time I despair or am filled with anxiety about all the antisemitism, wars etc I create something to channel all these feelings.

What does success look like to you as a creative?

There are many forms of success; the most obvious one is to be able to make a living as an artist. But on a deeper level, it’s the words, stories and history of people that reach out to me. They tell me that what I do gives them hope, they thank me for being such a strong advocate for our people despite the cost (yes, it has been high as I lost most of my former income) and the Iranians that now reach out to me every day with hope for a peaceful future together with future invitations to Iran to celebrate, exhibit and share stories is the most humbling experience. They remind me that it’s worth keeping up the fight for our truth, and that is success in a way.