After showcasing his hypnopompic tapestries in New York last year, Finnish graphic designer Kustaa Saksi is finally back in Europe in a very special place - the TextielMuseum’s TextielLab.
Saksi's current exhibition at the famous Tilburg-based museum and workshop (until 2nd November 2014) features his brightly colourful and intricately complex "Hypnopompic" tapestries, inspired by that state of consciousness leading out of sleep, a series of intriguing prints and some new experimental pieces that will prove extremely interesting for many artists and weavers.
Natural and synthetic materials - from viscose, lurex and metallic yarns to alpaca wool and mohair - are usually featured in his pieces, but new works also include reflective and phosphoric yarns that add glowing effects to Saksi's woven dreams.
The yarns give the tapestries a sense of movement and depth: while these pieces can't be defined as traditional narrative tapestries, they communicate through their abstract or geometrical elements a strong and dynamic energy.
The wall hangings on display have all been developed and produced in the TextielMuseum's TextielLab and an accompanying film and video illustrate the design and development process, offering insights in the work of Saksi and of the technicians collaborating with him at the lab.
Do you have further pieces in this exhibition compared to the one you had in New York a while back?
Kustaa Saksi: Yes, I do. I've always dreamt about the possibility of creating a moving tapestry - and I did. The tapestry is called "Scorpius" and it features eight very different yarns all in shades of different whites: rubber, phosphoric, reflective, mohair and alpaca. The moving image is projected on the tapestry creating quite a mysterious feel to it, sometimes camouflaging the whole piece, sometimes reflecting the yarns and the glowing phosphorics to reveal the design itself.
The TextielLab is an amazing place suspended between a museum and a laboratory: what does it represent for you?
Kustaa Saksi: I think it’s a unique place for me where I can make my dreams come true. I love working at the laboratory and experimenting with the bindings, colour combinations and materials.
In the video you are shown working with a technician: can you tell us more about this aspect of the work?
Kustaa Saksi: It's always a pleasure working with the highly skilled technicians at the lab. They are not afraid of experimenting and taking things further. It's always exciting to see my designs taking a new form in their software and then developing that until it's ready for sampling at the weaving machines.
How did you feel when you saw the piece finally coming out of the machine?
Kustaa Saksi: I think that's always one of the most magical moments when my design finally starts taking textile form in the weaving machines. Sometimes after the first sampling I feel completely lost; other times we hit the spot right away.
How easy was for you to step into the world of weaving at the TextielLab?
Kustaa Saksi: After experimenting at TextielLab for a couple of years, I started to feel comfortable with the materials and started to understand the bindings. But, best of all, during the process I was thrilled all the time.
In your opinion, are traditional looms better than computerised systems and what's the best solution between the two different mediums?
Kustaa Saksi: For me, computerized looms are really comfortable as they let me do experiments, quickly change and try bindings, and mix different materials. I also like the possibility of controlling the piece through to the finest details.
Do you think that in future you may also be working with smart textiles?
Kustaa Saksi: I think future will bring along so many possibilities in textile design. I'm really interested in the interactive side of textiles and hope to work with some artificially intelligent yarns soon!
Image credits for this post
Photographs 1 - 5 and 9 - 10 by Josefina Eikenaar.
Photographs 6 - 8 by Kustaa Saksi.
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