In 2004, Joana Vasconcelos began a series of works inspired by the Valkyries. These female figures from Norse mythology, charged with weaving the fate of men and selecting the bravest and most valiant warriors killed in battle, flew over the battlefields mounted on winged horses with the aim of recruiting Odin’s future warriors. Suspended from the ceiling, the enormous, strange, and unusual textile bodies of Joana Vasconcelos’ Valkyries also seem to soar through the spaces in search of noble material for divine tasks.

Aware of the richness and importance that the craftsmanship of Nisa achieves at its highest expression, Joana Vasconcelos proposed, in close collaboration with local artisans, the creation of Valquíria Enxoval, a work that brings together some of the finest examples of the region’s embroidery. By removing these unique objects from their usual functions and subverting the familiarity and domesticity with which they are typically presented, Joana Vasconcelos reinterprets, in a contemporary light, the aesthetic values evident through the different techniques and themes characteristic of Nisa’s craftsmanship. Felt appliqués, bobbin lace, frioleiras and embroidered shawls are symbolically synthesised into a grand and festive work that pays homage to women, juxtaposing the region’s culture and identity with the contemporary and the universal.