Rachel Rutt by Kult Models Sydney

ARTIST | MUSICIAN |MODEL

Few can claim a mastery of disparate arts quite like Rachel Rutt, an artist born and raised in Hong Kong and Japan before emigrating to Australia in her mid teens - her longtime career as a model and artist is punctuated by works that are at once transcendent and accessible, ethereal yet curiously grounded, much like the woman herself.

Rachel’s artistry is underpinned by an understanding of the meditative qualities of slow art. This is most evident in the implicit politics that emerge from her work, a thoughtful, deliberate practice that manifests as myriad of visual arts. Most notably, Rachel works with textiles, creating woven and knitted sculptures that are visceral narratives of empathy and memory.

Selected works have appeared in galleries across Sydney, along with featured works appearing in Harper’s Bazaar and Vogue.

VOGUE | WONDERFUL WEAVES

Hers is a face you may have seen before, but now model Rachel Rutt is away from the spotlight and letting her art speak for itself. Rutt has released a collection of weavings, titled Autobiotic, after studying at the Hand Weavers and Spinners Guild over the past four years. Searching for a place between “modern human dynamic and nature’s omnipresence” Rutt explores the natural world in all its shapes and forms through her woven work. See a first look at her cache of weavings below.
Photographed by Natalia Parsonson

RUTT AUSTRALIA

Evolving from her earlier work in wearable art and knitted sculpture, Rachel has released a collection of hand made and made to order knitwear through her clothing label RUTT Australia. Focusing on creating a low impact product, she uses much locally sourced, minimally processed, and organic materials in her work.

RUSSH | RUTT AUSTRALIA

There's a sense of honesty that permeates all Rachel Rutt puts her creative mind to. Her woven artworks, her music as one half of Heart People. And most recently, her new knitwear brand, RUTT Australia. In a fashion realm where the meaning of 'sustainability' ranges from the purest intentions to marketing term, Rutt calls her approach 'gentle'. "I say gentle because all production, no matter how thoughtfully created, has an impact on the climate and environment."

INTENT JOURNAL

Rachel is an emerging artist born and raised in Hong Kong and Japan. Often working with textiles, she creates woven and knitted sculptures, embarking on narratives of empathy and memory. She also teaches workshops for practical mending skills as a way to share the meditative qualities of the Slow movement.

Photographed by Kristina Yenko.

PARFEMME

Creativity curses through Rachel Rutt’s veins. Model turned maker, mender and artist has a considered and thoughtful approach to life, which shows up in all her artistic output. Having knitted since age 15, her debut knitwear brand, RUTT Australia, promises to be a slow-paced salve in a world that champions hyper-consumption. The pieces are as snugly as they are snazzy, and there’s every chance that once you toss them on, you’ll never want to take them off again.

FEEL REAL LOVE

A collection of wearable artwork, 'Feel Real Love' is a visual documentation celebrating the potential of the senses for an unrepressed experience.

10 MAGAZINE | STAND AND DELIVER: TEN MINUTES TO READ ABOUT A PEACEFUL PROTEST

Text by Rachel Rutt

The impatience of our digital culture incites a craving for the tenderness of the tactile. We feast our eyes and ears, but there is so much less to touch. While it’s debatable whether we can truly own anything, the most treasured items are the ones that hold the deepest and best memories.

The comfort of the familiar. The level of personal attachment doubles when even a small effort is made to salvage a thing almost lost. A transformation is initiated, a second life with a uniqueness connected irrevocably to its owner. Mending, for me, is a work of simplicity, yet it possesses in its utility the art of silent conversation. And what is that conversation? Craft is a time traveller, suspended between the modern and the ancient. Its language transcends common boundaries, connecting us to our shared history, our fragility. Fearless in sincerity and personality, it is a survivor, inspiring us to think about the people and place beyond the object. It is not beauty that compels this, but the innate humility of the act itself, to which its beauty belongs. While we are surrounded by contradictions and the conflict only grows – waste, climate change, disconnection – there is a welcome respite. A collective act of restoration. There are individuals quietly contributing their craft as a way of reshaping our systematic approach. Natural, found and recycled objects within their work shift our perception of value, introducing a narrative inclusive of personal experience and connectivity, vital to its growth. This is a peaceful protest striking without words, elevating the exchange to that of effective ideas, the potential for a new future.

10 MAGAZINE| HUNGRY PLANET: TEN MINUTES TO READ ABOUT THE ONES TO WATCH

Text by Rachel Rutt

Someone told me recently that mending is punk. Actually, it was Liz Ham, author of the Punk Girls photo book, so I guess she would know. Although hedonism, rebellion and anarchy are not descriptions I would have given to mending, I have always considered the act to be deeply rooted in personal expression, alongside the obvious function and purpose.

Now more of an adjective than a noun, punk can generally describe a person or group choosing an alternative course to the wider cultural “norm” – in this case I’m referring to our global economic mantra of mass consumerism. While the thought of traditional punks brings to mind skin-pierced, mohawk-sporting youth in leather, its mirror today is less visually recognisable. Rather, it is entirely based on the capacity of the individual mind to set their intentions and actions in the most conscious ways available to them. So maybe, these days, there is a little bit of anarchy in mending. Like wellness, conscious consuming is a consideration from the inside out. Maybe it’s the new form of selflove. In a world obsessed with status, simply avoiding purchases that have the capacity to rapidly date or wear is a statement as loud and rebellious as the original punk movement itself. We’re looking for an answer to our addiction to convenience. Mending is one form, but right next to it is innovation. Here are some of the brands and creators on my radar that are quietly climbing that mountain one step at a time, creating alternatives that are not only attractive but enduring, too. And putting human relationships first. Information is power. The choice to use it is ours, if we can be bothered (which, really, we can).

RUSSH | IN HER HAND

The way she builds it. We trip out of town with artist, model and musician Rachel Rutt, in collaboration with The Strand Arcade.

HOLIDAY THE LABEL | COLLABORATION

HEART PEOPLE

Rachel is also one half of Heart People, a genre-defying music project that stuns and delights with its dreamy convergence of ambient soundscapes and soothing electronica. “Homecoming”, Heart People’s titular track from their 2017 EP, was remixed by Andrew Weatherall, Toulouse Low Trax and Mr TC; and the single, “Voices” was featured in Happy Mag’s top 100 songs of the year.

Consciousness raising and sustainability are her art’s raison d’être and the advocacy in the arena of her work demands the attention of the hearts and minds it reaches. Whether it’s running textile workshops, creating short films that feature wearable, knitted art exalting the powers of anonymity and self expression, or panel discussions on creative, boundary breaking women - Rachel’s dogged and ambitious reach for meaningful, purposeful art is a reckoning and beautiful force.

iD Aus: Ryan Grieve of Canyons DJs fame has teamed up with model Rachel Rutt to form new musical force, Heart People. Together they channel their love of the natural and sacred into a sound that’s expansive, warm, deep, electronic and free. i-D and Joy...

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