Hale Ekinci Weaves Heritage and Innovation Into Contemporary Fiber Art
Photo: Hale Ekinci at work in her studio, crafting vibrant narratives that combine heritage textiles, digital design, and intricate hand-stitched details.
Blending Textiles, Technology, and Tradition With Humor and Vibrant Storytelling
Hale Ekinci fuses cultural heritage, personal narratives, and digital tools to create intricate textile art that explores identity, memory, and belonging, offering a vibrant reimagination of overlooked stories with humor and precision.
H ale Ekinci stands as a beacon of artistic ingenuity—championing a unique fusion of cultural exploration, bold storytelling, and material innovation. A Turkish-American artist, Ekinci’s work bridges the past and present, blending Middle Eastern and Western traditions while navigating the complexities of identity, immigration, and belonging. Through her striking artworks, she transforms ordinary household textiles into extraordinary creations, stitching together narratives laden with memory, culture, and defiance. Whether through her richly embroidered paintings, playful sculptural installations, or evocative video projects, Ekinci’s practice is as experimental as it is deeply personal.
Her work carries a vibrant duality—a blend of digital precision and the tactile intimacy of hand-stitched embroidery. Ekinci’s ability to utilize humor, symbolism, and improvisation allows her to challenge societal norms while celebrating themes of gendered labor, heritage, and collective memory. Her artistic process, rooted in both traditional craft and contemporary technology, reveals an intricate and imaginative world, a world that is as joyous as it is thought-provoking.
As Ekinci explains, her journey into fiber art began with a need for balance. Being a full-time graphic design professor and a seasoned animator required long hours in front of a computer. To counterbalance this rigid, digital work, Ekinci found herself drawn to the tactile satisfaction of knitting and crocheting. A short embroidery workshop at the ACRE artist residency solidified her passion, triggering a creative transformation where her past knowledge of solvent photo transfer techniques merged with her newfound appreciation for textiles and digital tools. “For me, it came out of a bodily need for a tactile process and joy,” she reflects.
Hale Ekinci’s bold artistry challenges conventions while celebrating identity, culture, and history through mesmerizing, innovative fiber and multimedia works.
A hallmark of Ekinci’s work is her distinctive practice of transferring old family photographs onto repurposed household textiles. This process becomes a way to translate memory into something tangible and enduring. Whether the photographs belong to her own Turkish heritage, her Indiana-born husband, or archival imagery of immigrants and queer individuals throughout history, Ekinci removes the settings to create figures that exist in a timeless, placeless realm. She uses a method involving wintergreen oil, applying it to printed photographs and transferring the imagery to the fabric’s surface with careful precision. The result is a fluid merging of the past and the present that centers on the people and their stories, leaving the surrounding contexts deliberately open to interpretation.
“Working with textiles allows me to feel immersed in my creativity all the time.” – Hale Ekinci
Bridging her expertise in art and computer science, Ekinci incorporates digital tools into almost every stage of her creative process. Her background allows her to quickly adopt new creative software and push the boundaries of what can be done with fiber art. She relies on digital platforms like Photoshop and her iPad to sketch ideas, experiment with colors and patterns, and envision potential designs for her textiles. Recently, during her residency at Indiana University Bloomington, Ekinci utilized a large-format fabric printer to develop her own digital patterns, which she then printed directly onto textiles. This ability to mesh traditional handcrafting with high-tech tools reflects not only her innovative spirit but also her commitment to evolving her practice. Additionally, her digital proficiency extends to documenting her work, building her website, and managing her digital marketing—elements that give her greater creative autonomy.
Hand-embroidery holds deep meaning for Ekinci, both within the context of her artworks and on a personal level. It plays a pivotal role in completing the story of her pieces, acting as outlines, embellishments, and layers of cultural symbolism. “Embroidery often comes later,” she explains. After transferring photographs and painting over them, she uses embroidery details to invoke an additional layer of narrative. Through meticulous hand-stitching, Ekinci invites viewers into a dynamic interplay of identity, memory, and humor. French knots obscure the faces in her embroidered portraits, adding anonymity, mystery, and a sense of universal connection. She uses cultural symbols—Turkish fezzes, tea cups, party hats, prayer beads—to challenge assumptions and imagine alternative narratives. Heteronormative men might adorn themselves with flower crowns reminiscent of Frida Kahlo, while a Turkish villager might hold an embroidered solo cup once reserved for American college parties.
Every stitch connects Ekinci with her personal history and lineage—her mother, neighbors, and the many generations of women whose craft has been overlooked by traditional artistic hierarchies. “Besides this emotional and political devotion to it, I also love how it makes me feel: how the slow stabbing of the fiber feels, how the colors accumulate, and how carrying it with me wherever I go makes me feel immersed in my creativity all the time,” she shares.
Over the past few years, Ekinci has experienced a period of remarkable creative productivity. For her, the key has been finding structure within an organic process. She describes her methodology as a “recipe” that allows her to work intuitively: collecting printed photographs, choosing from her vast array of patterned textiles, transferring images, painting, embroidery, block printing, and adding crochet edges. This structured approach has freed her from self-doubt or overthinking, opening space to listen to the materials and let them guide her. Working with textiles also bestows a unique flexibility on her practice. She can embroider at home, on the couch, or during social events—extending her creative time. Concentrated residencies, like those at Spudnik Printmaking Press and Indiana University Bloomington, have also provided her with the time and resources to dedicate herself fully to her craft.
Improvisation plays a vital role in Ekinci’s creative process, particularly during the embroidery stage. In her practice, she sees each added embellishment as an opportunity to reimagine her subjects and their stories. For instance, in her sculptural piece New New House, she redefines traditional figures by introducing whimsical twists: a Turkish villager woman sporting acrylic nails, a solemn husband holding a solo cup, or a vintage American woman adorned with a Turkish prayer bead. These embroidered elements do more than add whimsy—they complicate preconceived narratives about culture and identity, creating a space to laugh, question, and connect with history on a personal level.
Hale Ekinci’s work transcends the boundaries of tradition and technology, transforming ordinary fabrics into profound reflections of identity, memory, and connectivity. With each French knot, each painted flourish, and each digital design, she weaves her immigrant experience with a vibrant defiance that resonates universally. Her ability to incorporate joy, care, and self-discovery into every thread is nothing short of inspiring. Through her art, Hale Ekinci challenges us to see the layers in ourselves and others—not just as individuals, but as part of a collective human story. With every stitch, she embarks on an imaginative journey, crafting a world built on both heritage and innovation. And in doing so, she offers us a brilliant reminder: that even the ordinary fabrics of life can be transformed into something extraordinary.
Editor’s Note
Hale Ekinci’s work stands out as an extraordinary fusion of tradition, innovation, and personal narrative. Ekinci transforms ordinary textiles into vibrant, layered creations. Her seamless blend of hand-stitched embroidery, digital techniques, and cultural symbolism challenges conventions while celebrating identity, memory, and humor. With intricate textures, bold patterns, and imaginative storytelling, she invites viewers into a deeply personal yet universally resonant exploration of belonging and heritage. Her craftsmanship sparks thought and joy in equal measure.
