Luam Melake creates handwoven sculptures and furniture using innovative material combinations that reference her interdisciplinary interests in craft, industrial design, fine art, and architecture. Exploiting the psychological impacts of objects is the central focus of her work. Melake’s handwoven sculptures explore how empathy can be experienced with objects that convey abstract emotional concepts through their material compositions. Similarly, her hyper functional furniture work investigates the potential for furniture to facilitate meaningful social interactions and improve psychological well-being. During her residency at MAD, Melake will create a series of mixed-media weavings that continue her exploration of materiality as a language for communicating emotion.
Melake received her BA from the University of California, Berkeley in interdisciplinary field studies with a focus on architecture. She has exhibited internationally, including at R & Company, Parker Gallery, Addis Fine Art and Fondation Blachere. She is currently a research fellow at Parsons School of Design.
Image: Luam Melake photographed by Beatriz Meseguer.
