Tech and Textile

 

Lala Abaddon's Metaweaves

New York-based artist Lala Abaddon is a weaver, but in anything but the traditional sense. At first glance, Abaddon’s work looks like some digital fabrication, but all of these intricate pieces are painstakingly constructed by hand by deconstructing photos, slicing them into long, thin strips and reassembling them into massive mixed-media tapestries.  Throughout her work, Abaddon creates a sense of juxtaposition in both her technique and the subject matter in her pictures. Many of her photos depict graphic or thought-provoking imagery, contrasted by the gaudy colour palette and elaborate design they’re woven into. by deconstructing photos, slicing them into long, thin strips and reassembling them into massive mixed-media tapestries. 

Textile and pattern studies

While I was gleaning ideas for the stylistic direction I wanted Scav to take, I was struck by the similarity artists like Abaddon have found between patterns in textile and technology. These glitchy tapestries stood out to me because of their futuristic twist on a craft that is considered very ancient. They remind me of a myriad of things, all of which I wouldn’t normally associate with each other. They appear to be half 

Turkish rug half circuit board, a needlepoint sampler that has decided it wants to be a barcode. 

Left taken by Mikhail Svarichevsky, Right taken by Jamie Meares.

It was a concept well suited to my world, as the setting falls somewhere between fantasy and modernity. Many of Scav’s weapons and items also reflect this; neon crossbows that are modified to look sleeker and more advanced, and a respawn function which relies on throw blankets embedded with arcane technology to revive their users (pictured in sketchbook page above). Familiar, almost mundane items that have been given an ethereal upgrade.