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Adrian Pepe

Untitled

with Bisat Al Rih Women Weaver
2021
Embroidered Wool
260 x 200 cm

Fibre artist Adrian Pepe collaborated with Bisat Al Rih, a group of Lebanese craftswomen who work with wool for the creation of carpets and tapestries. Through a process of spinning, hand embroidering, and felting, the wool is transformed into artefacts laden with emotion, mythology, and symbolism. Pepe presents an embroidered Sky Map - inspired by the way shepherds relied on stars for guidance - within a site-specific installation. Another installation work, Hush, is conceived as a floor to ceiling woolen macrocosm made of felt, considered to be the oldest known textile. Used as clothing and shelter throughout the ages, it is interconnected with ancient nomadic traditions. Its craft entails the compression of fibres, symbolic of the melding of history, context, skill, the practitioner, and the animal inherent in the process. The revival of felt-making practices in a contemporary form engages the local community and celebrates an ancient skill and the civilization attached to it. In these uncertain times and a moment of global fragility, Pepe’s works evoke a dormant, more tangible understanding of nature and a primal, grounded form of existence. It is in times of crisis that we find most freedom and clarity, exploring the realm of possibility to creatively shift our perspective towards a better future.

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About the Artist

Adrian Pepe (b. 1984) is a fiber artist based in Beirut. His work focuses on textile practices from the Levant, working hand-in-hand with artisans of the region, unearthing ancient craft practices and weaving them into contemporary pieces. His integrated approach entwines culture, history, and performance with art, design, and interiors. In his work, he performs a sort of shadowgraphy, crafting objects and experiences as tools to enable an open discourse on materiality, our morphing cultural landscape, and our present condition. In 2021, Pepe won the SCAD Alumni Atelier Grant and the Fiber Arts Network: FELT Fiber Transformed Award. Solo and group exhibitions include Beirut Concept at Dubai Design Week, UAE (2021); Entangled Matters at Agial Gallery, Beirut, Lebanon (2021); Harvest: Mushroom Explorations at Beirut Design Week, Lebanon (2016); Hair Explorations at Non-Fiction Gallery, Savannah, GA (2013); and Seoul Design Fair, South Korea (2010).

More works by Adrian Pepe