‘Forest’ Presented by Halcyon Lake for Melbourne Design Week 2022.

Halcyon Lake’s ‘Forest’ championed Edelgrund’s ‘Alasht’ rugs designed by Paolo Giordano and Ouwen Mori. Photo: Jonas Von Der Hude. Styling: Irina Graewe.

Installation view of ‘Forest’ presented by Halcyon Lake at Black Cat Gallery for Melbourne Design Week 2022.

Details of Edelgrund’s rugs at ‘Forest’ installation presented by Halcyon Lake.

For Melbourne Design Week 2022, Halcyon Lake presented Forest, an evocative, visual and tactile experience exploring the woven textiles of Iranian rug maker Edelgrund. The Yellowtrace team had the pleasure of visiting the showcase during our jam-packed trip, and it certainly did not disappoint.

Held at Black Cat Gallery in Fitzroy, Forest was conceptually designed by Italian architect Paolo Giordano and the late Chinese product designer Ouwen Mori, presented originally during Milan Design Week 2021 at Palazzo Lita. With a series of eighteen suspended vertical panels, Girdano and Mori explored Edelgrund’s archive of designs, revealing the intricacies of the weaving process and a design language of infinite possibilities.

Edelgrund’s rugs are crafted in the homes of a small community of female artisans located in Alasht, a remote village in the Mazandaran province of Iran. Following time-honoured traditions, narrow wooden looms are used to weave panels about 400-500mm wide which are then carefully sewn together to create the desired rug size. The woven panels act as what Edelgrund describes as a ‘minimalist alphabet’—a modular system from which endless design combinations are possible, just as the letters of an alphabet can coalesce in an infinite vocabulary of words.

Deconstructed and suspended from the tall ceiling, the rug is transformed into an abstract work of art hanging in the space, presenting a new perspective on a very familiar object. From this angle, the handmade nature of the everyday object becomes the star of the show.

Playing on this modular system, Girdano and Mori encouraged a more free expression of colours and patterns combinations, curating a more contemporary feel to the woven textiles. Videos accompanying the show offered guests a peek into Edelgrund’s dyeing and looming process that felt particularly special.

The exhibition explored the relationship between traditional craftsmanship, contemporary design and sustainable practices, highlighting the importance of preserving inherited knowledge as a means to create designs with historical, cultural and technical value.

Halcyon Lake is Australia’s preeminent destination for contemporary rugs and carpets of style and quality. With foundations established more than five decades ago, today the business marries its rich heritage with a distinctly contemporary outlook, aligning with the creative vision of Australia’s leading interior designers and architects. For more information, visit halcyonlake.com

Related: Highlights from Melbourne Design Week 2022.

Forest by Halcyon Lake, features collections by Iranian rug maker Edelgrund. Photo: Jonas Von Der Hude. Styling: Irina Graewe.

Edelgrund ‘Forest’ was originally presented during Milan Design Week 2021 at Palazzo Lita.

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[Images courtesy of Halcyon Lake.]