Ruth Wickremesooriya is a multi-disciplinary artist and weaver creating slow art and bespoke cloth that explore themes of brokenness, hope and transformation. Her artistic practice is a tactile meditation on the paradox that finds beauty and pain residing side by side in our lives, especially in our darkest moments. At the root of all her work is a commitment to the discipline of hope; a stubborn belief that however ugly things seem, there can be a beautiful tomorrow.

Drawing inspiration from her ongoing relationship with depression and anxiety; global cultures of care and repair; and patterns of regeneration and resilience found in the natural world, she employs discarded fabric as her primary medium. Artworks are handwoven using discarded textiles, and inevitable studio waste generated in the process is gathered into raw material for handmade paper.

The act of transforming discarded materials into something of beauty stands in gentle resistance to throwaway culture and dismissive attitudes to things considered broken. Ruth sees this journey as an echo of the human experience, affirming that we all hold inherent value, and brokenness never has the final word.

Raised in England, Ruth earned her BFA in Woven Textile Design from Loughborough University, and can now be found with her loom just south of Gete-Onigaming, an ancient trade and portage trail in Tkaronto (Toronto). She is the winner of international design competition the ABURY Design Experience (2017) and Best in Show at the Cabbagetown Art and Craft Show (2022). Solo exhibitions of her work have been shown at DesignTO and the head office of Selvedge Magazine in London. Alongside her artistic practice, Ruth teaches on the Material Art & Design programme at OCADU and supports artisan craft in collaboration with Upper Canada Weaving and Handwork Studio.