Dear Shaded Viewers,
I keep this beautiful memory from the Dries Van Noten S/S 15 show in Paris where models walked on this lush carpet bringing nature into an industrial space and at the end of the show they all sat down and stretched on the carpet artwork of Alexandra Kehayoglou. Alexandra Kehayoglou is an Argentine artist that follows the family tradition , his Greek grandparents migrated to Argentina with their textile tradition of rug and carpet making. For Dries she created a whole new artwork, a 48 meters long (4 parts 12 meters each) and 3 meters wide carpet that was woven and tufted entirely by hand over four weeks and was ready just in time for Dries' show. The moss and grass carpet made of Patagonian wool left us feeling like we had just walked through nature, we were refreshed, smiling and serene. In order to meet the deadline Alexandra emplyed three teams of ten carpet makers working in shifts around the clock. It was her biggest project to date.
The setting for the show was inspired by Summer Festivals and the solstice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, quiet and sylvan revolution. “As soon as I discovered Alexandra’s work I immediately understood she was the only one I could collaborate with to execute the idea.” Dries Van Noten.
A reworking of the rushes from the Dries Van Noten women Spring /Summer 2015 fashion show by Atelier Impopulaire, Giulio Bursi and Pia Bolognesi, in collaboration with Withstand Film entitled “Embodies” was also premiered.
In Embodies, a slow-motion noir based on suspended tensions, the creations of Dries Van Noten and John Everett Millais’s Ophelia meet for a psychedelic Picnic at Hanging Rock, where the transfiguration of bodies in textiles et vice versa takes place. The film will be screened with ASVOFF 8 at Centre Pompidou during the next edition which takes place December 2 – 6 th.
The Berlin exhibit followed that of Hong Kong at PMQ – The Cube last March.
Alexandra Kehayoglou carpet artwork picture: ©Noshe
