Formafantasma's latest project, 'BTMM1514 Turkish Red' is on display at the Tilburg Textile Museum as part of its exhibition 'Turkish Red & More', curated by Caroline Boot and on show February 9 - May 26, 2013.
Drawing inspiration both from the Museum's Driessen archive and the history of the colour known as Turkish red, Formafantasma has designed a series of seventeen silk textiles which are dyed with madder roots in collaboration with a German colourist. The design of the silks features patterns from Driessen's books and other visual elements as a reference to the history of the colour. Traditional design elements such as colour and texture are used as tools to celebrate the work of the Driessen family and to evoke the symbolic, economic and social impact of Turkish red in history: from the Roman Empire, through the French Revolution until the chemical synthesis of alizarin, Turkish red was one of the major dyes obtainable from madder roots.
The title of the project, 'BTMM1514', refers to the way the books are numbered in the Museum's archive: the seventeen silks are designed as the pages of a book with a front and a back cover.
March 5, 2013