Entre Lanas (Between Wool)
El Hospital Centro Vivo, Badajoz, ES
25.10.2022 - 20.11.2022
Felted bowls by @soledadsantisteban. Wools from different Spanish breeds.
This show will run through November 20th at El Hospital Centro Vivo, an updated historical building located in Badajoz and belonging to the provincial government. Badajoz is located in Extremadura that happens to be the Spanish region hosting the greatest number of merino sheep. All merino breeds in the world today are Iberian merino descendants one way or the other but in the Iberian Peninsula decades of neglecting wool -in search of bigger profits from meat and milk- have taken this once precious wool into a rather calamitous condition.
The exhibition shows 72 textiles made of wool in a variety of textile techniques: weaving, knitting, tapestries, embroidery or felt being the most common. In a mix of high and low tech, some textiles have been laser-cut while others have been hand dyed with natural dyes or use handspun wool. Most of the works are one-offs and show an artistic intention but there are also garments, shawls, ponchos, hats, handbags, shoes, blankets and carpets. Traditional textiles linked to shepherding way of life such as blankets or saddlebags have also been recreated.
The aim of the exhibition is to highlight the multifaceted potential of wool for creation in craft, design and art and its importance as one of our most important native textile fibres in Spain and Europe. Wool has been used since Neolithic times to protect people from cold, rain and fire. They also play an essential role in cleaning the land and preventing summer fires that come widespread in unkept forests and pastures. Luckily nowadays we are witnessing all over Europe an increasing interest in local resources and the preservation of local breeds and the culture associated with them. In fact this is an itinerant exhibition that has already visited Madrid, Avila and Segovia and is receiving invitations to travel to other locations as well.
More about the exhibition in this link of the regional television (from minute 20:30):
https://www.rtve.es/play/videos/noticias-de-extremadura/segunda-edicion-26-10-2022/6722320/
The Asociación de Creadores Textiles de Madrid ACTM has 55 members all over the country and is a member of WCCE through its Oficio y arte membership. Its mission is the promotion of its members and the preservation, innovation and dissemination of textile heritage, creation and education. We are open to collaborate with organizations with similar interests and are currently working in an international textile festival scheduled for April 2024. If you want to know more please write to actm@creadorestextiles.org
General view of the exhibition at El Hospital Centro Vivo, Badajoz, Spain.
Drop by @choninruesga. Industrial wool felt laser-cut.
Left. Handwoven carpets by Chonín Ruesga. Right: Indigo-dyed wool etamine painted with indigo and kakishibu pigments. By Marian Martinez @kokoroindigoculture
foreground Handwoven reproduction of a mule blanket by Monse Calvo @algolisela. Background: Jacquard woven blankets designed by @charlotte_houman. Both made of 100% Spanish merino wool in its natural colours.
Tapestries by Svetlana Gromik @lana_venger_textileartist. Natural wools slightily felted, own technique.
Handwoven carpet samples, carpets (on the floor) and a reproduction of a saddlebag by @indigoestudiotextil @laladedios5. Merino wool and other Spanish breeds.
Knitted garments in Spanish merino designed by @charlotte_houman. Wool etamine shawls shibori-dyed by @pepa.carrillo
Felted bowls by @soledadsantisteban. Wools from different Spanish breeds.