Born in New York City, Bhakti Ziek is an artist renowned for narrative work that spans the full technological spectrum from backstrap to contemporary digital weaving. Often biographical, her recent work maps the constant chatter and looping thoughts that Buddhist literature calls “monkey mind.” In her work you often find references to processes of weaving, such as the mathematical calculations used to convert digital imagery into physical threads, mingling with images of the natural world. She sees the process of weaving, which takes hundreds of individual threads and combines them into a cohesive plane, as the perfect metaphor for how we build our lives from multiple identities and interests into a singular personality. With her propensity for storytelling, she combines words and images detailing a search for authenticity and integrity filtered through the web of weaving.
Ziek has an extensive exhibition record with work in the permanent collection of the Museum of Art and Design, New York, NY. Co-author of two books (The Woven Pixel: Designing for Jacquard and Dobby Looms Using Photoshop and Weaving on a Backstrap Loom), her writings on contemporary fiber have also been published in many journals. A former college professor, Ziek has a MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art, a BFA from the University of Kansas, and a BA in psychology from SUNY at Stony Brook. She has moved often, but currently calls Vermont home.