A largely distorted yet surprisingly ordered map of regular irregularities: a dense description of the present-day history of the future

A gigantic tapestry with a ten-metre-long image, knitted on the new circular knitting machine: a textile indictment of today's consumer society. Fanja Bouts graduated from the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in 2023 with this project. Her aim was to create a spectacle, an absurd ‘map’ of the world we live in with all its hecticness, sketched with a good dose of socially critical humour. 

Since such a large drawing is too heavy for the machine's memory, this project was made in parts on the machine. In doing so, the challenge was to make all parts of the drawing fit together seamlessly. A special feature is the use of a new double-knit technique, where the four colours in the work can be used freely - something the lab was more restricted in doing with the previous circular knitting machine. This creates a surprising image with an almost woven look. The rug stood out in the graduation shows, it was widely published in the Parool and Metropolis M, among others, and was included and the exhibition ‘The Best of Graduates’ at Galerie Ron Mandos, where it won the audience award.