Formafantasma: Turkish Red

At the Tilburg TextileMuseum, in the south of The Netherlands, Studio Formafantasma's Andrea Trimarchi and Simone Farresin present the results of their most recent research project, a collection of 17 silk textiles entitled BTMM1514 (Turkish Red). The project is on display as part of the Turkish Red & More exhibition, curated by Caroline Boot with exhibition design by Formafantasma, alongside projects by BCXSY, Minale-Maeda, Merel Boers and Lenneke Langenhuijsen.

Formafantasma's project BTMM1514 (Turkish Red) was inspired by the TextileMuseum's historical collection. Trimarchi and Farresin were drawn to the Driessen collection, composed of a large series of textile-related books, notebooks, material samples and printing experimentations collected by various generations of Driessen's family members and colourists working for the family's cotton printing company.

Looking at the book's fragments of textile collected around the world and printing tests, numerous texture and combinations materialised. Simultaneously, the designers were drawn to the research of Felix Driessen, who investigated the so-called Turkish red (or madder red), a particularly vibrant tone of red sourced from madder roots, first developed in India and later expanded till Greece and Turkey. "Its bright tones have intrigued different cultures, becoming one of the first examples of globalization," state the designers.

Studio Formafantasma has thus designed a series of 17 silk textiles, dyed with madder roots in collaboration with a German colourist. The textile design of the series features patterns from Driessen's books and other visual elements, referencing the history of Turkish red.


Video by Luisa Zanzani

Traditional design elements such as colour and texture are used as tools to both testify the work of the Driessen family and to evoke the symbolic, economic and social impact of the Turkish red in history: from the Roman Empire, through French Revolution till the chemical synthesis of alizarin, one of the major dyes obtainable from madder roots.


Video by Robert Adriessen

The title of the project refers to the way the books are numbered in the TextileMuseum's archive: the 17 silks are designed as the pages of a book, with a front and a back cover.

Studio Formafantasma: BTMM1514 (Turkish Red)
Design and concept: Studio Formafantasma
Photos: Federico Floriani
Video "Rubia": Luisa Zanzani
Video "Turkish red": Robert Adriessen
Project development: Andrea Trimarchi, Simone Farresin, Francesco Zorzi, Jenny Hier, Livia Rossi, David Seidlitz from Rubia Pflanzenfarberei

Through 26 May 2013
Turkish Red & More
Tilburg Textile Museum
Goirkestraat 96, Tilburg, The Netherlands