The TextielMuseum in Tilburg, the Netherlands, currently exhibits the work of designers and design studios that have been inspired by the collection of the museum in an exhibition called ‘Turkish Red and more’. All in their own way, they reflect or comment on the pieces in the collection and their techniques. The new projects are shown next to their works that inspired them.
Digging in the archive of the historical collection of the TextielMuseum in Tilburg, Studio Formafantasma was drawn to the so-called Driessen collection. This was donated to the TextielMuseum by the members of the Driessen family once the cotton printing in Leiden (Leidsche Katoen Maatschappij) ended. In the collection are lots of notebooks, material samples and printing experimentations.
In these notebooks they found the Turkish red that formed the foundation of their study. It’s a particular bright tone of red sourced from madder roots and it’s the most researched colour in the history of textile. First developed in India, it later travelled to Greece and Turkey. ‘What is fascinating about attempting to recreate Turkish Red is that it belonged to so many different cultures. It was one of the first examples of globalisation. Yes, it’s actually a funny story. It’s been the first case of industrial espionage’, says Formafantasma.
The first three minutes of the film below show the discoveries by Formafantasma in the archives.
Turkish Red and More will be at the TextielMuseum in Tilburg until the 26th of May.
TextielMuseum
Goirkestraat 96
5046 GN Tilburg
The Netherlands
Photos Federico Floriani
formafantasma.com
