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Glimpses,glitches,and gestures
cc-tapis invited five designers to interpret theconcept of gesture as hand-knotted rugs for theGesture Project. Denna Jones investigates
Image Stroke rugs
designed by Sabine
Marcelis for cc-tapis

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Cultivate
Cultivate by Yuri Himuro invites
the rug owner to add their own
gestures to the rug once it's off
the loom and in their home. Basedon Himuro's project Snip Snap,
the jacquard pattern's double
structure is revealed when woven
threads are snipped free withshears. www.h-m-r.net

MindscapeMindscape by Mae Engelgeer
investigates digital gesture to'take the viewer on a journey toanother space'. Her wool, silk andlinen rugs rely on texture to mirror
the design. The outcome is aninterdependence of material andconcept that becomes a digital
dualism that echoes the conceptof the 'ghost in the machine'.
www.mae-engelgeer.nl

PatchaPatcha by Patricia Urquiola adopts
the visuals of spontaneousmixed-media collage to create
plank-like forms woven withupcycled and left-over materials
from textile and rug production.
The plank-like forms and 'found'colour of Urquiola's rugs resonate
with the forms and colours of St
Ives Modernist Margaret Mellis's
driftwood sculptures.
www.patriciaurquiola.com

T

he Gesture Project of handmade
rugs produced by cc-tapis
investigates gesture as the rootof artistic expression. An initiativeof cc-tapis artistic director
Daniele Lora, the project brings
together five designers—Patricia Urquiola,Sabine Marcelis, Philippe Malouin, Mae
Engelgeer, and Yuri Himuro—who meditate on
the meaning of 'simple' hand and tool movements
and what Lora describes as the 'single sign' ofgesture. The designs led cc-tapis to develop newtechniques and to introduce previously unexploredweaving techniques and novel materials.
The background to the project is the'gesturalism' of the mid-20th-century art
movement known as abstract expressionism.
The movement's action painters are notably
represented by Jackson Pollock who steppedon floor-based canvases to sweep the surfaces
with gesture from a paint-loaded brush or
crouched over the surface to control long paintdrips. The art movement is cited as the influence
for the cc-tapis Gesture Project. It's worth
considering, however, whether the unique way
each designer interprets gesture has more incommon with theatrical gesture. Gesture byan actor is a tool they use to paraphrase theirperformance. It isn't a translation of words, it
isn't gestural art, it's a new language. The fi ve
designers of the Gesture Project have eachcreated a new language of theatrical gestureenhanced by materials and techniques.
www.cc-tapis.com

Lines
Lines by Philippe Malouinrepresents the irregular marks
left by a soft crayon as it trails
across a paper surface. Malouinand Lora collaborated on how dye,material and production would
accentuate the design. Each
weaver who works on a Lines rug
uses a different ball of yarn tointroduce a stylistic 'glitch' thatechoes the concept and allows
each rug to be entirely unique.
www.philippemalouin.com

StrokeStroke by Sabine Marcelis
employs a domestic theme thatreferences home as a canvas
where daily activities include
cleaning a smooth surface withsoap in sweeping, arms-lengthlinear strokes.
www.sabinemarcelis.com

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Cutting edge:talking Snip Snaprugs with Yuri
HimuroPhoto: Kohsuke Higuchi

Denna Jones talks to cc-tapis collaborator Japanesedesigner Yuri Himuro about how her innovative Snip
Snap textiles translated into covetable rug designs

02

01 Cultivate rugs
designed by Yuri
Himuro for cc-tapis
01

02 Snip Snap textiles
by Yuri Himuro

How did you get the idea to do create yourSnip Snap work?
I realised that I could associate the textureof the threads with many different things.
Even when the texture of the threads is thesame, it would appear as if we are looking at
a water splash if there is a person swimmingin the foreground, while it would seem that
we are looking at a mowed lawn if there isa lawnmower. If there is an airplane, the cut
threads would seem to have formed contrails.
By cutting the threads to a uniform lengthor cutting them all off, or by changing the way
or the angle they are cut, you can create subtle
changes in the tapestry or rug's texture. Each of
us can arrive at different stories when the same
work is approached from different perspectives.
I feel as if I've provided my audience with thestage and the characters on it, and it's up tothem to decide what sort of stories to come up
with by snipping the threads.

the adults! While the adults cut with a pictureof what they want their end products to look
like, the kids don't really care—they simply
enjoy doing their thing with the scissors. The
kids all ended up with very vigorous and unique
final products.

Do you weave Snip Snap tapestries ona handloom?
They are woven using a computerised jacquard
loom at a factory in Gifu. When the weaving isdone they are cut into smaller pieces by hand atthe studio.

Will people who spend money on a cc-tapis
rug be reluctant to cut into it?
I don't know anyone who has the rug yet
because it only launched last month (July2020). I can understand people's hesitation
when it comes to cutting something soexpensive. I think it's possible to actually use it
without cutting it. As you use it, you can cut it
if you want to make a few design changes, orif it gets dirty somewhere, you can just cut outthat part. You don't have to cut it immediately
after you buy it. When or if to cut it is up to theperson who has the rug.

Do people snipping your scenes feel likethey too are artists?
Those who cut Snip Snap have different ideas.
Some people think about the structure as if
they were creating their own work as an artist
and cut it as if they were painting. At some ofthe stores where the tapestries are sold thesellers sometimes also snip and turn them into
collaborative works of art with their customers.
Some people also want to keep a trace of the cut
as a memento of their child's first use of scissors.
Are kids more willing to 'snip' than adults?
Kids are definitely more willing to 'snip' thanWas it difficult to translate your tapestry
process for the cc-tapis weavers whocreated your Snip Snap rugs?
I've designed a few rugs before using thegun-tufting technique, but this is the first time
I've designed a woven rug. The cc-tapis teamreinterpreted the structure of Snip Snap totranslate it into rugs and they completed thetransformation after we went through multiple
rounds of trial and error. There are a lot of things
that need to be taken into account when it comesto making this type of rug, such as making sureit doesn't unravel when cut, and making sure thethreads don't get tripped up too much.

Are wool rugs popular in Japan or aretatami mats more common?
In Japan the tatami mat used to be culturally
popular, but now most houses only havewooden flooring. I think more and more people
are incorporating rugs into their flooring.
www.h-m-r.net