Above the Bay of Naples from Via Partenope, Naples, September 2008
Event
M HKA, Antwerp
20 January 2018 - 29 April 2018
With his tapestries, the British artist Craigie Horsfield reflects on the concept of 'time'. The slow realization of his work stands in stark contrast to the ephemerality of the moment that is depicted on the carpet. Similarly, the combination of the modern, ultrafast medium of photography with the centuries-old art of the tapestry creates a contradiction. Horsfield also sees the carpet as a metaphor for his view on social relations. The colored threads that make up the carpet represent nothing in themselves, but together form an impressive image. Horsfield feels that, in this way, the significance of the individual gains significance within the context of a broader social fabric.
The monumental tapestry Above the Bay of Naples from Via Partenope, Naples, September 2008 was custom made for the round room of the M HKA, following Horsfield’s solo exhibition Schering en inslag of 2010. The work was made in collaboration with Flanders Tapestries, a textile factory in West Flanders. Under the direction of Horsfield, the company translated one of his pictures - a panoramic view of a fireworks show in the Bay of Naples – into a gigantic and very detailed woven textile work.
