A Flying Carpet that Breaks the Boundaries
JAN BOWMAN
A Flying Carpet that Breaks the Boundaries
Ulster Carpets has contributed to the forthcoming ‘Woven Forms: Breaking the Boundaries’ exhibition by weaving artist, Jan Bowman, which is being held at the Museum of Carpet in Kidderminster.
This summer exhibition of contemporary and traditional woven forms – which runs from 29 June to 18 September, 2019 – sees Jan break the boundaries of weaving by creating woven spatial divides, panels and sculptural pieces.
Her work – which also appeared at the Saatchi Gallery in spring – embraces a high level of craftsmanship and aims to challenge the conventional limits of the discipline by transforming traditional woven forms into contemporary installations.
These themes will be incorporated into a display during the exhibition by Ulster that showcases a past collaboration with artist, Seyed Alavi, to design and weave a bespoke carpet for Sacramento Airport.
This extraordinary carpet design will be on display, giving visitors a chance to see the stunning design for this ambitious project, without having to travel to California.
Seyed used aerial photographs of Sacramento as the basis for his design, recalling the experience of flying to create a luxurious welcome for visitors. By depicting the larger geographical area, the carpet reinforces a sense of belonging and creates a connection with the local landscape for the traveller.
Seyed provided aerial images and design concepts to Ulster’s design team, who translated them into a format suitable for woven Axminster carpet.
Weaving this large, complex design also demonstrates how Ulster continues to break boundaries. The Sacramento Airport carpet is completely unique and it would have been impossible to create this design without using Ulster’s patented PSYLO™ weaving technology.
PSYLO™ has revolutionised the carpet industry by offering total design freedom, without the need for a repeating pattern, and an unsurpassed range of colours.
This combination of Ulster’s design expertise and patented technology provided Seyed with the opportunity to turn his vision into a reality by creating a design that breaks the boundaries of traditional woven carpet.
The Woven Forms: Breaking the Boundaries exhibition will incorporate Jan’s vast expertise in the textile industry with Kidderminster’s heritage as a weaving town. Cloth has been woven in the town from the 13th Century and Kidderminster eventually became known as the ‘woven carpet capital of the world’.
Jan’s background as a commercial woven textile design consultant spans interior, fashion and automotive design and her research explores the heightening of people’s sense of ‘well-being’ through the integration of textile artwork within public spaces. During the exhibition, Jan will give two lectures and will also lead weaving workshops which will give participants the opportunity to learn how to weave using table-top looms.
The Museum of Carpet is based in Kidderminster, the ‘Woven Carpet Capital of the World’. A centre of heritage, art and industry, it celebrates the history of carpet weaving and Kidderminster’s global contribution. The residential design team of Ulster Carpets is based within the Museum of Carpets building and the company is proud to support this exhibition.
If you’d like to find out more about the Museum of Carpets or the Woven Forms: Breaking the Boundaries exhibition, visit museumofcarpet.org . You can also read more about the Sacramento Airport project here.
