Textile design Collana senza capo né coda (A necklace without head nor tail), 2004
Cotton cablé
Tubular weave with continuous warp, woven on an ethnic loom
These tubular necklaces are the result of a research on Peruvian ethnic textiles and my re-interpretation of their techniques. Textiles woven on commonly used hand-looms have to be cut off the loom. This destroys their uniqueness, their fringes a reminder that they were once part of a longer piece. A backstrap loom, on the contrary, with its lease rod and heddle rod, is assembled specifically for a given textile, and taken apart once the weaving is over, while the finished object emerges whole, like a butterfly from its cocoon, and its uncut uniqueness reminds us of that core of unique essence that we are constantly striving to build within ourselves. I’ve made three types of necklaces so far:
A – ethnic warp, woven in the round, starting at the centre, then doubling the warp and finally dividing it again for the two end segments
B – ethnic circular warp, woven in the round
C – ethnic circular wap, woven both flat and in the round