© Marie-Antoinette Mangeot
The white Palace Yurt suspended within the glass walls of NYC’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum’s conservatory is far from a forestial enclosure. Created by Janice Arnold for the Fashioning Felt exhibit, the Palace Yurt is comprised of 30 feet high panels crafted from multiple layers of silk, metallic and wool threads.
This felted glory took eight months to complete and drove Arnold to Mongolia, where she was inspired by nomadic traditions and techniques.
Gold and silver silk metallic organza merges with the cool whites and blue taupes of wool, while diamond shapes are felted into ceiling panels, allowing natural light to illuminate the space below. Like a domed cathedral of boughs, light arches through windows of silken gauze, producing a surreal blue and gold aura.
Arguably, the best way to savour the experience is to lie with your head thrown back like a child at Disneyland. Mounted on specially integrated armature, the yurt suspends reality with superlative texture. High above, where the felt meets the ceiling, is a blue felted edge draped in couture sensibility and interspersed with crystals. Incorporating folkloric imagery, the installation reflects the poetry of nature, be it the simplicity of flowing water or tree branches.
Fashioning Felt features over seventy felt artworks ranging from fashion to product design, and architecture to interiors. Climb out of the box and into an alternate reality at the Palace Yurt.
View Fashioning Felt from 6 March – 7 Sept at the Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum, NYC.
