Anna Krieps

In my work, I draw on familiar craft and artistic elements to develop a personal, innovative narrative. I am particularly interested in signs and symbols, their power and their universal significance in the context of embroidery. During my stay in Oaxaca, I learnt about Spanish-Indigenous embroidery, its motifs, meanings and techniques. Taking part in the Día de Muertos – with embroidered costumes and Christian and pagan symbols – was a formative experience.

Central to my work is the question of how a deeply rooted cultural ritual is commercialised by capitalism and what impact this has on the population. For Mesoamerican cultures, thread is a universal element that connects life, space and the cosmos. I use it to make the invisible visible: time, space and the cycle of life. Photographs, threads, cacti and embroidered textiles such as the huipil become vessels for this cosmological and social narrative.

In 2012, Anna Krieps completed her degree at the AKI (NL), specialising in photography and media art; in 2011, she studied at MassArt in Boston as part of an exchange programme. In 2013, she completed a Master’s degree in Art Direction at ECAL in Lausanne. After four years in Berlin, she returned to Luxembourg in 2020 and taught art for two years. Since 2022, she has been living part-time in Switzerland. In 2024/25, she took part in the Springbreak Artshow in New York and Los Angeles; in 2025, she will be exhibiting in Queens.

Exhibition views © Cité de l'image / Hype / CAL