A Carpet

Undyed Egyptian sheepswool, Egyptian cotton, plant dyes
220cm x 120cm x 20cm
2019

This carpet was made on a strange mongrel loom. Structurally similar to the backstrap looms used by the Guatamalan women I studied on YouTube videos, it is strung to allow for an adapted version of Pharaonic tapestry weaving. I made my first small experiments in Fayoum in the spring of 2019. By the end of the summer the carpet’s empty loom hung ready in the studio.

As the experiment played out, contours emerged. When a tight peak consumed the space of the loom unexpectedly quickly, the worman had to curve to the left so it could reach human length before the warps were full.

Photographs by Roshanak Zangeneh