(Archive) The Art of Living Together

From digital designs to tactile tapestries

Tjitske translated specific symbiotic relationships into visual designs, which are transformed into 3D reliefs and tactile structures by the use of ancestral tufting techniques. The interaction between different species is emphasized through the correlation of the geometric and the organic, the abstract and the detailed, and the digital and the tactile. Dissimilar worlds that smoothly collide, interact and enforce each other.

For the production Tjitske collaborated with Spanish rug brand nanimarquina. The tapestries are handmade by their artisans in India with the utmost care. New Zealand Wool of the highest quality is used to create the durable and soft results, and yarns are coloured by natural chemical-free ingredients.

The fourth design of 'The Art of Living Together' collection is a woven tapestry and is presented at Kazerne.

What is symbiosis?

'Symbiosis' is one of the major forces behind evolution where animals, plants, fungi and organisms cooperate to survive by the means of contributing to each other’s support. This close relationship between two species often has a long history of interdependent co-evolution.

'Mutualism' is the collaboration between dissimilar species, where both species are mutually benefiting and neither can survive without the other.

'Commensalism' is the association between dissimilar species, where one species is benefiting while the other species is neither benefited nor harmed.

Triptych of symbiotic relationships

'Zebra & Ostrich'
Ostriches and Zebras are depending on each other’s senses. Ostriches are slightly hard of hearing and have a poor sense of smell while their eyesight is exceptional. Zebras on the other hand have weak eyesight but a great sense of smell and hearing. These two animals warn each other from predators, through smart use of each others senses: mutualism.

'Chameleon & Lichen'
Lichen is a fungi that lives together with algae or bacteria and can be found on trees, rocks and stones. Without each other these organismes can’t survive: mutualism. The chameleon perfectly blends in with the lichen due to their similar appearance. Thanks to this the chameleon stays invisible for its prey and its predators. The lichen is not harmed at all while the chameleon benefits from it: commensalism.

'Sunbirds & Tropical Flowers 1.0'
Most tropical flowers are colourful and have long tubular calyx full of sugary nectar. These plants have customized and adjusted their shape and size for the beaks of local sunbirds, to be exclusively available for them. Sunbirds also feed on all the insects that visit the flower, and this helps in protecting the flower from being eaten: mutualism.