Lace Mashrabiya
Textile installation (2013)
Commissioned by the Vorarlberg Architecture Institute, Dornbirn, AT
Lace Mashrabiya is an instantly recognizable assemblage of woodwork and window associated with Islamic architecture. This project reinterprets the mashrabiya motif to create a multi-sided experience for the spectator. Looking from the outside of the building toward the inside—that is, toward Mecca—the viewer can see the inscription “Allah.” The inscription is designed as a three-dimensional puzzle of individual lace pieces based on Kufic calligraphy. From inside the building, the viewer can see cross stitch-like motifs referencing local Austrian cultural traditions. The choice of lace references the textile history of Vorarlberg and points at the historical intersection between local tradition and global cultural flows. This global aspect continues as new customers from Nigeria and other African countries bring new tastes to Vorarlberg’s textile industry. The project’s superposing of motifs deconstructs the notion of static cultural identities, rendering them visible as an interactive process of cultural exchange.
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Project commissioned by the Vorarlberg Architecture Institute (VAI) for the exhibition INTERIOR VIEW SOUTHEAST: Investigations of Islamic Spaces, curated by Azra Akšamija, with co-curators Margit Greinöcker and Tobias Hagleitner.
Materials: Lace, wood, fish wire
Dimensions: 750 x 250 x 60 cm
Concept and design: Azra Akšamija
Production: Karina Lia Penedo Silvester (drawings), Claudine Pachnicke (project management), VAI team (installation)
Sponsoring: HKG-Embroideries HOFER GMBH, Lustenau, Austria (lace materials)
Photographs: Azra Akšamija, Markus Gohm, Darko Todorovic