Crafting Uzbekistan: Traditions in Threads

Events Details

The exhibition showcases the evolution of Uzbekistan's applied arts over the last century, including rare and exquisite artefacts such as wooden stamps for dyeing fabrics and 20th century Bukhara "Bakhmal" velvet fabrics from the State Museum of Arts of Uzbekistan. Additionally, visitors can discover carpets from different regions of Uzbekistan and a unique wooden screen from the State Museum of Applied Art and History of Handicrafts of Uzbekistan. The modern handcrafted treasures on display encompass a variety of items, elegantly carved chests and book stands and exquisite ikat silk fabrics. Also on display is the world premiere of an innovative 'topchan' designed by Lebanese designer Nada Debs and crafted by Uzbek woodworker Sirodjiddin Rakhmatullaev, giving a traditional piece of furniture a contemporary twist.

The scenography stands as an atmospheric experience rooted from the traditional crafts of Uzbekistan. It uses ‘optical weaving’ as a conceptual logic to drive the aesthetic and spatial qualities of the space, with an emphasis on color and triggering the senses. The optical weaving methodology uses an unconventional application of lenticular surface treatments to allow for the illusion of depth and the ability of color-shifting as visitors move and view the footprint of the space from different angles. These ‘optical threads’ found within each lenticular tile is reminiscent of traditional woven threads found in traditional textiles and carpets.

Composited of almost 31,000 lenticular tiles with 26,000,000 threads in total, the tiles are intricately installed to form a unique carpet-like composition which is experienced in a none-finite manner, whereby no two people will experience the space the same way.

Source and cover image credit: Design Doha