Monday Inspiration ✨
Artist: Michael Zelehoski
Michael Zelehoski moved from working solo to sharing the process with artisans. That changed his approach completely.
He spent years making solo wood assemblages. Then he moved to Oaxaca’s coast and started learning from local weavers and fishermen.
Víctor Alfonzo weaves fishing nets by hand. Gaby Tlapalli builds looms from scratch. Luis Miguel Almaraz Ramirez runs a weaving studio called Lar’xill. They work together to create large woven pieces from found coastal materials—fishing line, rope, discarded tools.
“In Mexico they say the river first taught humans to weave through the flow of its waters.”
Instead of assembling found objects on picture planes, they weave them into nets and textiles. The materials are still appropriated and transformed—but the process is collaborative and woven, not solo and glued.
Collage has always been about taking existing things and recombining them. Michael’s approach expands that: working with skilled artisans using traditional weaving techniques to transform coastal debris into new forms.
Beyond art-making, he’s worked with local government on infrastructure projects—roads and water systems for the Playa Aragón community.
His work is in the permanent collection at Centre Pompidou, Paris.
Learn more about Michael Zelehoski’s collaborative practice—link in bio.
Photos: © Jérôme Michel
Text by Max-o-matic
