Epilepsy warning! A tapestry gif animation.

Gij, Wildeman is a small, woven work in an edition of 35. It has two different sides: the front shows an emblem-like image, inspired by late 16th, early 17th century alchemic illustrations. On the other side, this image is mirrored in colors that are not used in the front – which is relatively normal in weaving because the image is the carrier. Not normal is the added text: this is a technical trick, developed by Marjan van Oeffelt of Textiellab (Textielmuseum, Tilburgh, the Netherlands).

The phrase is selected by Belgian writer Jeroen Olyslaegers from his novel-in-progress Wildevrouw (planned for publication in December 2020).

Apparently, both sides work wildly as an animated gif. More examples below.

I’m interested in working with the tapestry medium more often, as a way to perpetuate my work without the use for an electrical plug. For future projects, I would want to investigate the possibilities of making an animated tapestry – a tapestry that, for instance, changes its appearance under the influence of light (glow-in-the-dark yarn will do the trick), or while walking past it.