Ana Henriques’s works on handmade paper, or wall hangings, explore the spaces women fill and create, asking how the metaphysical or spiritual is used to elevate/explore the female narrative. She also explores destruction and regeneration, and the socio-political history of women. She uses elements of South American quilts and weaving, traditional embroidery and paper making/cutting to consider how craft is used functionally and traditionally by women. Her interests extend to illustration, surface pattern design, story-telling, embroidery, and various printmaking methods.
As a project coordinator for OPIRG (Ontario Public Interest Research Group), she brought the work of women weavers from Tlamacazapa, Mexico to Ontario informing her exploration of traditional craft. Ana received a BFA in Visual Arts at York University, after a gap year teaching in Hong Kong. She then trained as an art teacher in Oxford, UK. The breadth of experience and perspective gleaned from traveling and teaching in myriad countries continues to inform her art and practice.