Between a raw white, a raw black and brown details, this rug holds the most striking juxtaposition of the collection: a regular-loop weave on a flat background, outlined in black, with traditional randas, flowers and a sun, all embroidered by hand.
It is also one of the pieces with the longest process: it is woven in Momostenango, Totonicapán, and travels to Chichicastenango, Quiché, to be embroidered, hence its name, Dos Pueblos (Two Towns). That same distance, that difference in texture and colour, is also the translation of a huipil: traditionally divided into two sections, the celestial and the earthly, with an opening at the centre through which the wearer's head passes, always surrounded by decoration; here, the embroidered sun that closes the piece. Which section is celestial and which is earthly is left to the viewer's interpretation.
First collection signed by Boehme in collaboration with designer Sara Efia Reddin.
Note:
Regular loop: a technique created specifically for this rug; it is not an existing traditional texturing technique. It was defined as the opposite of the irregular loop and is made with a wooden rod, weaving the weft at the same time as the warp, to achieve a uniform loop that gives a sense of continuity.
Flowers: decorative embroidered motifs traditionally inspired by the surrounding nature.
Traditional randas: in Maya clothing everything was made by hand, and in many cases it still is. They were born from the need to join the different parts of a garment, what we now call seams, before electricity existed, and were gradually forgotten with the arrival of electric machinery. That is why they stand for resistance: they remind us that everything was made by hand, like this piece, and that a tradition can also withstand the arrival of the new. This piece, and not only this one but the whole collection, carries this meaning: a motif that stops being merely decorative and becomes memory and resilience.
Sun: an element born from the huipil. Traditionally, the opening at the centre of the huipil through which a woman's head passes symbolises the sun at the centre of the sky.
