You could get lost in these carpets. In his “Tokio“ collection, Jan Kath recreates the pictures of famous artistic photographer Stefan Emmelmann as pieces of textile artwork. It is an entirely new dimension in the world of decorative carpets.
Carpets become art, and art becomes carpets. In this process, millions of pixels from the digital original are translated knot by knot into silk and wool – a technique that demands the highest level of skill and presents the craft of carpet making in a new light. The concept also attracts an entirely new clientele. Carpets in the Tokio collection are a phenomenal play of colors. On closer inspection, the observer will begin to recognize night scenes from the Japanese metropolis: high-rise buildings, illuminated advertising, bicycles, posters, and people. The motifs overlap on many levels, melting into each other. Some images are reflected, while others multiply – a kaleidoscopic effect that draws your gaze into this extraordinary carpet. Details that went unnoticed now come to the fore: a small kitten on the corner of the road, share prices on a display screen, the face of a young woman as she sneaks a glance from beneath her umbrella. Above all of these details, almost like a secret message, Japanese and Chinese lettering shimmer on the surface. “It doesn’t matter whether you’re standing on the carpet, looking at it on the ground from further away, or admiring the work as a wall hanging – it will always offer you a different, captivating picture,” says Kath. “The carpet has become a canvas that you can walk on and feel with your hands, which is a revolution in the way we normally perceive the world around us.”
