Entrelac is a collaborative project between NADAAA and artist Raya Kassisieh for the inaugural Amman Design Week running Sept. 1 – Sept. 9. The work consists of 300 kg of un-dyed wool, hand knit and hung from the roof structure of The Electric Hangar exhibition hall, placing in dialogue digital design with traditional craft. The design team utilized computer simulated physics to relax an approximation of the knit fabric exhibit which was then hand knit by a team of twenty women from all regions of Jordan. Entrelac is less of a jewel box requiring precise digital production than a garment that is scaled up to the dimensions of the context within which it is set: a monumental sartorial project. Slung from the order of the standing trusses above, the structure transforms to a state of informality –entropy– as it confronts the ground.
Twenty-eight large knit strands were produced, which were hung from the existing structure and again woven in a traditional Palestinian single X, at a larger scale, to form an enclosure. This enclosure possesses both geometric exactness and a tectonic system which allows for the tolerances of the material behavior and construction process.
Knowledge of the inherent material bias of a simple jersey knit surface allowed long thin knit sheets to produce more volumetric strands as the sheets naturally rolled into themselves. This hand knit bias of the wool transformed the yarn into a larger scale strand, which possesses both the scale of the hand and the body, perceptually oscillating between the familiar and strangeness.
The craftswomen skillfully and carefully knit each strand of the work in their homes and small workshops. This network of domestically scaled production allowed for Entrelac’s rapid installation within the Electric Hangar exhibition hall. Minimal material means were transformed into a delicate enclosure taking advantage of the exhibition hall’s height and existing truss structure: effectively spatializing a surface.
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