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This fragment is part of the "CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future" carpet.
Through the fragment we trace the journey of the fragment owners and their collabs as they explore, experiment and creatively advance socially relevant themes. Here is the fragment as we are sending it on this three and a half-year journey.
Follow this story to observe the transformations the fragement undergoes over the course of these years...
...THE JOURNEY CONTINUES...
...with Peter Roe
The Jawbone Collective adopted as it's logo the skull of a 'Water Dragon' or Icthyosaurus... We are based in an area of world renown, Dorset's Jurassic Coast, famous for its dinosaur fossils. Within ten miles of where I sit is the town of Axminster, famous throughout the world for its carpets. The Roman Mosaics that are in our Museums are again floor coverings from a different era, many incomplete, showing the growth of civilisation and the influence of progress in the missing spaces. These are the starting points for our creatives. We hope to inspire creatives to weave words into performance and written pieces that we can share with the project and the world.
Carpet Divining
Carpets define spaces
Furniture, demands
Furniture, commands
with intrusive cabriole legs
that crush, plush fabrics
with hobnailed feet
There is no soul
in machine made floor coverings
The poetry is in the weave
In the hands
that threaded the needle
In the hands
that tied the knots
that ran their fingers
over the pashmina
cotton, mohair and silk
On a day we can only imagine
when the sun shone
on new silks
on bright faces
on colourful patterns
On a date we can only guess
based on paintings
by Flemish and Italian masters
who reflected hues and shapes
of warp and weft
in finite detail
In paints and oils
on a rough canvas
stretched on a wooden frame
embellished with golden edges
That hung on a wall
to define a living space
with an artistic declaration
“look at me…
I am rich…
I own a carpet!”
In the painting
we can see the dream
but the soul is in the thread
The soul is in the plush
that you feel
between naked toes
The soul is in the pashmina
cotton, mohair, silk
The soul is in this thread
The words that we spin
The stories that we share
The soul is in seeing
the threads that bind us
to the hands that tied
the knots on a carpet
that defined a space
That thread…
That thread is divine
Peter Roe - February 2025
...AND ON WE GO...
...with Devashree Vyas
Growing up in Mumbai, India, cultural diversity has been an innate part of my life, and food has been a profound expression of this cultural diversity, no matter where life has led me. From lunch boxes of friends that told stories of their native places, to being an immigrant in Germany today and seeking both - the taste of home and the adventures of a world I am exploring, food memories are integral to my own identity. When the fragment #28 came home, it became the warmest inspiration. I sought recipes from grandparents, cooked for and with friends, even created new recipes as part of a cultural festival, and built new bonds with new neighbours, all over food. I know the fragment will leave me soon, but I am grateful I had the chance to build a new saga of food memories with it.
Food Memories
Living alone in Germany for the most part for these years, my relationship with food grew; food was not solely what I consumed, it became a linking fabric to my memories of home.
All of these photos symbolise the time when I cooked with my grandparents and learned family recipes...
... and when I made my departed grandmother’s favourite meal, “dal dhokli”
When my mother-in-law taught me to make a traditional recipe from Odisha, India
... and when we collaborated for food prep and then diverged to create different meals altogether
When we celebrated nine days of the Indian festival of Navratri (translations: nine nights)
... developing nine new recipes for cake, one for in each colour symbolizing the nine nights, the nine Matas.
Navratri (Part II)
And, now, when this little fragment inspired collaborations outside of my immediate family;
...Sholeh Zard from my Iranian neighbour and Seb Kheer from me.
The journey begins...
...with Krishnakumar Rana of Cottbusbeats
Indian fusion dance in Cottbus
For me, dance transcends borders.
Collaborating with people and music from diverse cultures and experimenting with dance styles from around the world, makes me feel deeply connected to the richness of our shared experiences.
Passion fuels every step, and our movement to the beat and rhythm of music becomes a celebration of our collective journey.
I am forever grateful to be part of this amazing project, which gave us the opportunity to take our fusion dancing to the next level at the CulturalxCollabs opening event at the museum island in Berlin.
Cottbus Beats at Pergamon Museum!
Front and Back
About the Project
The Museum for Islamic Art's project, #CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the future, celebrates the transformative power of cultural exchange and the shared threads that unite us all. All the things we love, have loved and will ever love come from cultural exchange, migration and diversity, or as we like to call it #CulturalxCollabs.
100 carpet fragments, cut from a replica of the iconic dragon carpet, will travel the world (delivered by DHL). The fragments will ignite #CulturalxCollabs with co-creators, inspiring human ingenuity, fostering community and ultimately demonstrating how cultural exchange enriches all our lives.
Follow #CulturalxCollabs on Instagram as the project unfolds...
...or learn more here
Weaving the Future
Join us on a journey with 100 carpet fragments as they travel around the world for three and a half years, finding temporary homes while bridging cultural boundaries, fostering worldwide community united by the power of human stories.
Fragment Journeys
100 carpet fragments part of the "CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future" project. Follow their journeys through the ever changing owners' over three and a half years.
Where is the Dragon?
The star of the "CulturalxCollabs - Weaving the Future" project is a so-called Caucasian dragon carpet from the 17th century. A dragon carpet - all well and good - but: where is the dragon?
