Experimental Projects in Textiles Globally
While design continues to be the most popular profession within textiles, I have always been intrigued by curators and cultural entrepreneurs looking at textile anthropology, and their involvement with the artisan communities in many ways. Two such projects that are rooted in textiles communities from geographies that are miles apart caught my focus. We spoke with women entrepreneurs from different walks within Textiles from Mexico and Lebanon.
Featuring Studio Kunukku by Sara Hayes
Studio Kunukku, founded by Sarah Hayes, is a multidisciplinary design and printing studio based in Beirut, Lebanon. Created by the inspiration for lost and endangered crafts, the studio aims to rediscover and re-engage with traditional techniques of printing and textiles, especially woodblock printing.
“We seek to offer a new view on how endangered crafts can be practiced again as a form of expression and social transformation that can also influence contemporary design fields.”
Necessity and Conception
The name Kunukku, derived from the extinct Akkadian language, refers to a type of cylinder seal that was widely used to imprint a mark or a signature for business and correspondences, whether by royals or common people. Much like the Akkadian language, wooden stamping in Syria which was once a revered printing technique, with workshops woven into the souks of Aleppo, Damascus and Hama, is but a faded memory in the minds of few nowadays.
So what caused woodblock printing, the indigeneous method of printing on cloth that is widely used throughout East Asia to become virtually extinct in Syria?
When cheaper means of printing began to dominate the market, the craft drastically declined in the last several decades and was further erased through devastating effects of political instability and war.
According to Studio Kunukku’s sources, some blocks depicting ethnic motifs have even been deliberately destroyed. Over time, block printing has become one of the least-practiced means of expression found in Syrian cultural heritage. The disappearance of such forms of expression means the loss of Syrian visual heritage and rich narratives of communities across the country, from the Kurds of the north to the Bedouins of the south.
The vast majority of Syrians in Lebanon come from neglected minority communities that helped to shape and protect similar practices throughout history including the Dom and Bedouin communities. Studio Kunukku aspires to anchor this craft initially within displaced communities in Lebanon in a way that enables them to turn the craft into a source of livelihood and to carry it as a mark of their origins and history. Engaging with diverse communities sustainably and ethically is a core part of this studio.
The team is also equally diverse at Studio Kunukku. It was born out of the necessity to conserve a dying craft by Sarah Hayes, but also to integrate creativity into a professional career. The team now encompasses of a group of young Palestinian and Syrian artists and local Lebanese talents who together aims to bring back a lost craft to life. The Studio also has a network of local artisan partners both in Lebanon and in Syria, who are skilled in crafts including weaving, embroidery, natural dyeing, and woodcarving.
Evolution of a brand
With initial seed funding over the last year, the studio has ample space for heritage research, wood carving, printing and cataloging. Bespoke homeware and fashion pieces as well as custom print packaging based on lost craft design inspiration are also created as and when they receive requests for custom print orders from local businesses and individuals.
The creative team at Studio Kunukku has extensive practice in art-making and various art practices that they constantly experiment with design in traditional yet modern and playful ways. Inspiration is drawn from visual references of motifs and designs that are either lost or no longer accessible. The initial collection of prints were inspired by Syrian homes and daily life visuals.
The team is also in the process of developing an accessible library of rare and limited edition books and publications on crafts, arts, architecture and design for designers, students and members of the community to learn and find inspiration.
Efforts have been initiated at Studio Kunukku to
digitally archive the old block collections, replicate and reinterpret old blocks,
produce new block prints with inspiration from architecture, cultural icons and daily life,
create the Kunukku Library accessible to local community
offer training on printmaking, woodcarving and cultural heritage reinterpretation to artisans and students.
The team at Studio Kunukku have cultivated strong working relationships with two prominent collectors of wooden blocks used for printing in Syria. In total, they have been able to identify the presence of at least 200 wooden blocks as part of these two collections. According to oral history accounts, the oldest blocks were carved between 200-400 years ago. They have already been working closely with esteemed collector, Zena Sabbagh, based in Beirut to learn about the history and usage of the blocks she has collected.
Challenges ahead
Perhaps the biggest challenge is that without a written record and extremely limited knowledge about Syrian block printing, it’s fragility is preserved through oral history disseminated by very few people including Sabbagh.
The other collection is located in Damascus, Syria, and is owned by an antiques collector who has been contacted and is willing to share his knowledge about his collection. Studio Kunukku therefore sets out to archive these two collections in an effort to capture the histories, designs and significance of these motifs in their relation to cultural heritage and Syrian communities in exile.
“We aim to archive the collections in digital form to allow a wide audience to be able to access the prints, learn about them and use them within contemporary art practices and daily life.” - Studio Kunukku
As a studio, they also aim to archive the collections in digital form to allow a wide audience to be able to access the prints, learn about them and use them within contemporary art practices and daily life. The process of archiving the stamps will include photographing the stamp itself, documenting types of wood and surfaces (some old blocks are protected with cloth or varnishes), and then imprinting the motif on a sheet of paper that can be scanned and published. This allows the viewer to understand the carved result of the stamp and the printed result depending on the viewer's desired focus. The printed paper will then be stored in a safe and dry location for opportunities to exhibit physically. As of now, they are in search of support to make this archival project come to life and identify opportunities to eventually exhibit the print archive both digitally and in-person.
https://www.studiokunukku.com/
All photos by respective projects
Featuring Loona Universe by Sharon Drijanski
With sustainability at its center, Loona, an artistic collective founded by Sharon Drijanski who works consciously through the lens of art, design and human collaboration.
The Philosophy
Loona is an initiative rooted in an integral philosophy inspired by the convergence of human and cultural exchange. A special and personal project that Sharon conceived as her love letter to Mother Earth. And that is why everything that she does in Loona is a sacrament that reflects being close to Mother Earth; from preserving the arts and encouraging creativity, working to educate, to sharing stories, showing the internal processes or even meeting new people. Sustainability is weaved into Drijanski’s work as it is into her life.
With monthly limited edition collaborations with like-minded purposeful artists, Sharon Drijanski seeks to create an innovative platform and a synergetic space through which one can discover, explore and engage with the journey of creation. She inspires to enable a committed and sustained dialogue with artists that is exclusively published on Loona’s website.
Journey and Early Projects
So what drove Sharon Drijanski to this creative venture with textiles?
She says that she has always been drawn to textiles. Despite coming from a European family she was born in Mexico City and grew up in an environment that nourished her sense of style and clash of cultures. Her artistic background and years of experience in sculpture has further focused her attention to materials and textiles that carry stories beyond the limits of other materials.
According to Drijanski “The textile is more than what we see superficially, more than beauty the message we see when we encounter it. The beauty is found in the story behind it, maybe the traditions, the generational treasure, the process, the complete cultural concept of it. The love, an appreciation for who makes it and who comes in contact with it.”
For Drijanski , before Loona there was The Feathered, a concept store that specializes in curating the best of local Mexican and international emerging designers. She possesses a deep admiration for the art of dressing and for fashion as a vehicle for self-expression, confidence, and power.
Through The Feathered, she exhibited awe inspiring works of independent and avant-garde designers from all over the world making The Feathered the only spot in the country where the creations of such talent could be found at the time.
After closing the store a year and a half ago, Loona came in a dream- the name and how it was going to be and Sharon decided to just trust the process, follow this path and thus started work on it.
For the love of Sustainability
As a huge believer in creative evolution, Drijanski soon began dedicating her life’s work to Loona. With each collaboration, the promise of Loona comes to a fulfilment. Rediscover and reclaim some of life's most valuable fundamentals. Through a series of conversations that explore the innovative process, materials, and crafting techniques behind each single object and garment, Loona ensures that creativity is valued and treasured for the future generations to come.
Loona was born not just out of pure love and passion. It was also “born out of the necessity to do something about what is happening to the planet instead of crying about it, and to be at peace in my heart that I’m doing something, to give back instead of just taking, to be forever thankful for what she gives.” Which is why going forward, Sharon Drijanski hopes to continue doing what she loves in the most organic manner possible.
“Quality is honored through time, beauty lays in the process, and value is defined by the impact of our choices on Earth and our respect towards the planet, our home.”
She wants to keep “serving as a platform and space where purposeful artists are discovered and united, where we honor quality, where beauty lies in the process, and the value is defined by the impact of the choices we make to respect the planet, our home.”
Loona is an incubator space where Sharon Drijanski hopes to enable more creative and sustainable collaborations going forward.
https://loonauniverse.com/
