Throughout history, western art appreciation has consistently relegated rug artistry to within the boundaries of craft - ie. the domestic realm, the feminine, of lesser value.
In the canon of European art, the 20th century rates as the period of discovery of colour as pure non-representational form. So late compared with rugs!
"Oh you painters who ask for a technique of colour - study carpets and there you will find all knowledge." Paul Gaugin.
As in Australian indigenous art, nomadic and peasant rugs premise on the spiritual - utilising "storytelling" symbols of totemic and magic significance.
Our mission is to share and educate the community regarding these unique works of feminine sacred art.
Before this age of mass production and child slavery there existed a feminine apotropaic and shamanistic weaving culture. That great culture, generically called "the Nomadic Horsemen of Central Asia" exists no more, and with it's demise go thousands of years of fascinating feminine spiritual knowledge. We do have some clues - the connections with various Turkic and American Indian cultures, for instance - but what speaks to us directly is the rugs themselves, as written and built histories generally have a "western male imperialist academic" filter.
We in the 21st century see the ends of this culture, with pockets having survived in some form in parts of Iran and Afghanistan. We cry out for more, having just arrived at the end of an era. Rug art connects with an archaic epoch when the Gods were female at a time when our own cultural tide washes those shores.
Look at our domestic housing. In the past European houses existed of a hallway with separate rooms of a specific function. This was the accepted western style - to separate and name.
Look at modern open plan living with multi-functional spaces and rooms opening directly from the main area. This is akin to traditional nomadic and peasant dwellings such as the yurt, where the kitchen is the heart, where the feminine world is the centre, not devalued but elevated.
