Hand-tufted carpet, 100% wool, 175 x 125cm
Photography Lola Pertsowsky
Carpet Beater Carpet
2022
The first hand-tufted rugs that make up the Carpet Beater Carpets series were made for the Flemish Parliament. The carpets were created using a labour-intensive process demanding the requisite dedication and expertise. This process functions as a metaphor for the democratic process in a parliament. The form of a carpet beater can be seen in the colourful lines and patterns of each of the carpets. These laboriously woven carpet beaters symbolise invisible, complex work. This could be the work of forming a parliament and the slow processes of debate, discussion and coalition building, from which unity in majority grows, eventually allowing decisions to be reached and laws to be passed. The carpet beater is also a sturdy and highly effective maintenance tool. A parliament is a powerful tool too: the institution acts as an effective social instrument. And if it is no longer effective, the dust needs to be beaten out of it, with a carpet beater for instance. A carpet beater is a household object. And a parliament also functions only through the work of its members. There are tasks to be carried out, and some of these – like maintenance – often go unrecognised. Yet this same invisible effort is a valuable resource, helping to ensure the good functioning of democracy. Kato Six often works with textiles for specific locations, weaving together the components of design, domesticity and architecture. Six’s work combines the abstract with the figurative, recognition with disruption of that recognition. The recognition comes from the inclusion of everyday materials like rope and wool, the connection between craftsmanship and art and the use of recognisable objects. The disruption of this recognition comes from the representation of these objects in a context in which their intended function does not apply.
Hand-tufted carpet, 100% wool, 175 x 125cm
Photography Lola Pertsowsky
Hand-tufted carpet, 100% wool, 175 x 125cm
Photography Lola Pertsowsky
Hand-tufted carpet, 100% wool, 175 x 125cm
Photography Lola Pertsowsky
Hand-tufted carpet, 100% wool, 175 x 125cm
Photography Lola Pertsowsky
Hand-tufted carpet, 100% wool, 175 x 125cm
Photography Lola Pertsowsky
Hand-tufted carpet, 100% wool, 175 x 125cm
Photography Lola Pertsowsky
Hand-tufted carpet, 100% wool, 175 x 125cm
Photography Lola Pertsowsky
Hand-tufted carpet, 100% wool, 175 x 125cm
Photography Lola Pertsowsky
Hand-tufted carpet, 100% wool, 175 x 125cm
Photography Lola Pertsowsky
Hand-tufted carpet, 100% wool, 175 x 125cm
Photography Lola Pertsowsky
Hand-tufted carpet, 100% wool, 175 x 125cm
Photography Lola Pertsowsky