2023 Netwörks WAFFL

belong to a series of works begun in 2014 that use textile ribbons, wires, wooden sticks, curtain trims, and the like to create colorful braids. Geometric patterns, also found in progressive „anti-figurative“ painting of the 20th century, are countered using staid textile products from the home goods store.

In 2023, a small submarine imploded during an underwater expedition to the Titanic wreck. The cause (according to press releases) was material fatigue of the carbon fiber, which was laminated in synthetic resin (the fiber absorbs the tensile forces, the resin the compressive forces). During research, I noticed that the fabric of the carbon fiber, similar to a textile fabric, consists only of two threads offset by 90° (warp/weft as in looms). The weak point of the fabric seems to me to be the tensile forces that act diagonally on the fabric and are primarily absorbed by the resin.

Inspired by the technical conditions of the accident, I tried to weave a fabric in 2023 that can absorb tensile forces in six directions. This results in a fabric that is much more resistant to distortion, which was illustrated in the Netwörks WAFFL 2+3 series and can also be woven well around corners.