SHADOW DANCE

A photographic study on how light reacts on textile surfaces to form a dance between the light and the dark.

This project is now archived and was part of DDW23

This project is part of
Open Studio Gasfabriek 20

Shadow dance tapestry

Patty van den Elshout

As a photographer, I have a fascination for light and shadow. Using paper waste from the photography industry, I researched how light reacts to various textile techniques. This is made in passementerie and weaving in the TextielMuseum. The result is a dance between light and dark.

SHADOW DANCE

Photography, the art of capturing light. Light is the most fundamental element in photography, as it is the medium through which a photograph is captured. In this sense, light can be seen as a kind of “raw material” for photography, much like clay is for a sculptor or paint is for a painter. Without light, nothing is visible, only darkness. When an object blocks the light’s path, shadows appear on the other side. The brighter the light, the darker the shadow it casts. Opposite yet reliant on each other to exist. They move together and shift constantly. It is an eternal dance between the light and the dark. Abstract shadows derived from architectural forms translated into the organic movement of shifting light. With the integration of textile techniques, such as weaving and passementerie, crafted in paper. Exploring the interplay between light and shadow. An ever-changing dance, to appreciate the hidden beauty that surrounds us. The fascinating realm where light and shadow are intertwined, forever seeking new lengths of this eternal dance.