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Petra Blaisse: Moving on! (March 21, 2018)01:16:27

Elena Manferdini introduces Petra Blaisse, characterizing the work of her firm Inside Outside as the apotheosis of contemporary textiles, combining light, sound, technology, material, movement and change.

Blaisse identifies important themes of her work, stressing creating spaces, binding things together, degrees of connection or disconnection between inside and outside in different scales, and physical climate. Certain motifs reoccur frequently: reflection, illusion, figurative imagery, circles and voyeurism. Paths for people are one of her most important tools – which are different from Tracks that organizes the movement of things. Understanding the properties of materials is essential: the limits and possibilities of textiles and plants, but also how things are made. Collaboration with fabricators and technicians is key. Blaisse’s material vocabulary emphasizes deforming, cutting, knitting, growing, constructing, fighting gravity, and responsiveness to the environment.

Blaisse discusses in detail recent projects:
•A garden for the Qatar Foundation headquarters, Doha (2008-16)
•A garden and curtain for the Qatar National Library, Education City, Doha (2008-16)
•“Rifletuti” personal pavilions for the gardens of Villa Manin, Passariano (2004)
•A curtain/organizing backdrop for the Pierre Paulin exhibition, Pompidou Center (2016)
•A landscape design for the Walker Art Center, with David Adjaye and Ai Wei Wei (under construction)
•Installation in the Sonneveld House Museum (2015)
•Public spaces and courtyards for the University of Amsterdam, Roeterseiland campus (2010-7)
•“Enfilade,” screens for an exhibition “Theft is vision” at the Luma Foundation, Zurich (under construction)
•New curtains and carpets for the Villa Bordeaux
•“Re-set,” the Dutch Pavilion, Venice architecture biennale (2012)

At 1:06:58, Blaisse concludes with a ten-minute video of the “Re-set” installation.

From the Media ArchiveMedia archive link