Yann Gerstberger is a storyteller. His large scale textile tapestries are dense with patterns and motifs that tell his stories. Made of hand-dyed cotton fibres (taken from mops) and industrial fabrics that are glued to a vinyl surface, Gerstberger’s process is as crude as it is painstakingly refined. “I started to use mops because they are the most basic, common, easy-to-find kind of fabric,” he says. Gerstberger dyes his fabrics using both natural and industrial dyes. “I sometimes use a sprayer full of chlorine to draw directly on my materials, graffiti like.” As with all great artists, Gerstberger draws from a multitude of influences –– popular culture, Mexican culture, (he lives in Mexico City) Yoruba art –– to create a style that is all his own. Matisse, Picasso and Picabia are all inspirations. “I think what’s cool when you are an artist is you can drive (and eventually run over) those categories because you’re generating another kind of language that goes beyond those definitions,” he says. This short film shows the artist at work in his studio. It’s pretty amazing; his process, the colours, the fantastical shapes and the richness of his story telling.