The Wool Parade

Kvadrat

2013

Installation

Description

Doshi Levien created a playful installation for Kvadrat that brings together a selection of the Danish company’s textiles to highlight the unique qualities of its wool. The Wool Parade consists of 12 upholstered objects inspired by the avant-garde parties and architectural theatre costumes of the early Bauhaus period. Each object has a peculiar, ambiguous form and its own individual character; together, they evoke a procession of marionettes or costumed figures in motion.

All 12 pieces are upholstered in bold, irreverent combinations of woollen textiles associated with costumes and theatre. Several objects include hollow volumes that at first appear to be abstract geometric elements. As the viewer moves around the installation, these forms momentarily align, offering fleeting glimpses of sartorial characters in space.
An animated film made by Studio AKA, and commissioned by Robbie Mahoney from Graphic Thought Facility, brought The Wool Parade to life.

Credits
Photos by Graphic Thought Facility
 Animation by Studio AKA
 Installation and character design by Doshi Levien
The Wool Parade
THE WOOL PARADE BROUGHT TO LIFE
(Fig 1)

THE WOOL PARADE BROUGHT TO LIFE

Commissioned by Graphic Thought Facility for Kvadrat, this short film brings abstract characters devised by Doshi Levien to life. The way the shapes behave and move was inspired in part by the Evolved Virtual Creatures experiments of computational artist Karl Sims.
DESIGN DRAWING BY NIPA DOSHI
(Fig 2)

DESIGN DRAWING BY NIPA DOSHI

Taking inspiration from the early Bauhaus’s avant-garde parties and theatre costumes, Doshi Levien combined Kvadrat textiles with abstracted figurative shapes to highlight the unique qualities of wool in conjunction with sculptural form.
A PROCESSION OF MARIONETTE
(Fig 3)

A PROCESSION OF MARIONETTE

The objects were created as large-scale static sculptures that hang in installation, and which were launched as part of the 2013 Stockholm Furniture and Light Fair.