Ketlin Kuusing

• The representation of a carpet in an environment
• Tutor: Kärt Ojavee, Jan Kaus, Elna Kaasik

The master’s thesis unfolds the spatial – material and cultural – spiritual phenomenon of the carpet. The carpet creates a meaningful place that marks the human’s connection with it’s spatial environment. The stories about carpets provided in the thesis begin with a sense of self and space. The everyday nature of the carpet began to evolve both in materiality and cultural history. A distinctive room emerged – a carpet. The following stories began from the edges of the carpets weaved for the purpous of this thesis. These stories appeared over time when I stopped and thought about the carpets’ visuals and the symbolism of their archetypes. 

I combined definitions, spaces and materials. Carpets began to appear as surfaces that cover and protect us and our rooms. I found that the carpet as a surface brings to our lives a feeling of protection. I began to notice spatial meanings that sometimes only appear as symbols in the cognitive world of color. I found the color red and it’s ancient significance.

The practical work also began from the edges of the carpet, driven by the desire to find a more personal relationship with its creation. I weaved three rugs with similar yet different edges. In-between the completion of the carpets, I looked for associations and connections in their materiality and symbolism. The three monochrome carpets are inspired by the first carpets made in Estonia. The three carpets are woven with metaphors, textures and ornaments symbolising its surface.

Photos: Martin Lazarev