Having returned home to her city of origin, Lisbon, after completing her studies in Textile Design at Chelsea College of Arts, artist Maria Appleton is developing her practice in a communal studio located near the metropolitan epicentre, Saint George’s castle. Traversing the streets everyday to reach her working place, she is gripped by the shape of the urban tissue and its multilayered architectural styles that feed her production: “I think it is fascinating that everyone has a relationship with colour affected by their immediate surroundings.” The blues, reds and yellows found in Portuguese façades can be recognised in her hand-woven compositions, hung around her workspace like fresh laundry of hypnotising hues –suitably, as one of her main strategies when simulating the positioning of the works in a space for her installations is testing these on a washing line. Starting every day with a mandatory dose of black coffee, Maria takes her time before jumping into action, often soundtracking her thoughts to the sound of music, which she combines with moments of silence. Focused on the craftsmanship of textiles, she not only weaves but also prints, a technique of determination that involves careful consideration. Integrating intense periods of experimentation and reflection, María often arrives at a point of relaxation that is crucial to her progress, allowing for her pieces to fall into place as part of a fragmented yet coherent puzzle that is “incomplete, as much as it makes sense.”
