Textilités: Exploring Meaning and Pertinence

The doors at the Old Slaughterhouses of Mons are opened to welcome visitors until the 1st of August 2021 for a large exhibition bringing together exclusively Belgian artists: Textilités. The show in question is initiated by BeCraft in collaboration with the City of Mons and Les Drapiers, and curated by Denise Biernaux. The show presents more than 60 works, ranging from specific productions to recent and old works, Textilités offers a wide panorama of contemporary Belgian creation. 

Throughout the exhibition the concept, meaning and pertinence of textiles is explored by looking into the relationship between materials and forces, thereby upholding a form of ‘textility’. To illustrate the subject, the works have been selected among artists living in Belgium for whom textiles is one of their driving forces, and where vital creative energy is as important as the finished form. The works exhibited will hold the symbolic, cultural and aesthetic values of their creators, as much artists as artisans.

Going into the history of textiles, weaving and knitting techniques it becomes clear that little by little, textiles have always expressed structural changes in our society. Textiles have often been manufactured by combining the resources provided by new technologies with the requirements of sustainable development. Nowadays, smart textiles can even detect, store and transmit information. On the other hand, as a creative medium, textiles also offer greater scope to artists in the form of unexpected materials and new approaches. New concepts in textiles design have also been developed, thus raising an interesting question regarding contemporary art. 

Needless to say, textiles have gained a rightful place in the world of contemporary visual arts. As an art form, textiles are no longer to be seen as a finished product, but rather as a multi-directional thought process. To quote the anthropologist Tim Ingold: “Knots are always in the midst of things, while their ends are on the loose, rooting for other lines to tangle with“. In other words, the language of textiles is “a living thing” rather than simply a form or material. 

Participating artists include Esther Babulik, Bedrossian Servaes, Marianne Berenhaut, Tatiana Bohm, Chevalier Masson, Hannah De Corte, Catherine de Launoit, Laurence Dervaux, Lili Desrues, Mathilde D’hooge, Jot Fau, Javier Fernandez, Dolorès Gossye, Daniel Henry, Jean-Pierre Husquinet, Julie Krakowski, Jean Pierre Muller, objects.projects., Leïla Pile, Elfie Poiré, Céline Prestavoine, Marianne Reding, Klaas Rommelaere, Diane Steverlynck, Charlotte Stuby, Linda Topic, Hélène Van Spaendonck, Graziella Vruna, Emma Van Roey et Claire Williams.

Textilités is on show at the Old Slaughterhouses of Mons from the 9th of May until the 1st of August 2021 and initiated by BeCraft. Cover image: view of Textilités, credits Johan Poezevara.