Tapestries

Das Lied von der Erde


7 tapestries

Textile Allegories as Human Connections to the Environment

Ancient wisdom and modern ecological philosophy converge in the textile journey ‘Das Lied von der Erde’ by Dutch designer and textile artist Peter George d’Angelino Tap. Inspired by Attar’s epic ‘Conference of the Birds,’ Albrecht’s Earth Emotions, and the enigmatic verses of Erda in Wagner’s Ring, d’Angelino Tap leads us on an immersive odyssey through seven needle-felted metaphorical valleys, exploring the philosophical and emotional dimensions of the relationship between humanity and the environment.


Attar’s 12th-century epic Sufi poem ‘The Conference of the Birds’ follows the avian quest across seven valleys in search of their legendary king, only to reveal that their monarch is a reflection of their own essence. These valleys, in turn, symbolise the vast spectrum of earthly emotions and the interplay between humanity and the environment. Environmental philosopher Glenn Albrecht’s ground-breaking work on Earth Emotions significantly informs d’Angelino Tap’s tapestries. Albrecht delves deep into the emotional and psychological responses elicited by the harsh realities of environmental degradation, climate change,


and the loss of biodiversity. His call for a deeper emotional connection with the earth and a shift towards an ecocentric worldview resonates profoundly in today’s global environment crisis.In d’Angelino Tap’s tapestries, Albrecht’s Earth Emotion definitions are juxtaposed with the original valleys, offering a contemporary reflection of our relationship with nature. Additionally, the embroidered cryptic lines by Earth’s mother, Erda, from Richard Wagner’s ‘Der Ring des Nibelungen,’ create an oracle-like quality that emphasizes the urgency of the environmental issues we face. Wagner’s Ring cycle, rich in symbolism and allegory, underscores the destructive forces of human desire and the corruption of the natural world by our actions. It mirrors the ongoing struggle between the untamed forces of nature and humanity’s attempts to control and dominate these forces.


Through d’Angelino Tap’s work, viewers are invited to contemplate these complex narratives, forging connections between ancient allegories and the pressing environmental concerns of our modern age. This series of tapestries is a powerful reminder of the need for deeper reflection, connection with nature, and collective action to address the challenges of our time.


“On our life journey, like Attar’s ‘The Conference of the Birds,’ we navigate the seven valleys of earthly emotions. To protect our feathers, we must hold dear the natural world and existence itself – the very fabric we are woven into."


Solastalgia

Das Lied von der Erde

[Emotional or existential distress caused by environmental change]



Stark ruft das Lied; kraftig reizt der Zauber. Ich bin erwacht aus wissendem Schlaf: wer scheucht den Schlummer mir?

—Erda, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Richard Wagner 


The first tapestry in the ‘Das Lied von de Erde’ series depicts a slumbering Erda, her watchful gaze reflected in one eye open while the other peacefully closed. The delicate tips of her hair act as vigilant antennae, eyes fixed on the eternal beyond. Stirred from her tranquil sleep, Mother Earth awakens due to the emotional upheaval caused by human actions. The composition envelops Erda as if she were reclining in the Valley of the Quest. 


In a parallel to Wagner’s opera, Erda’s awakening provokes disruptions in the weft of the ongoing warp of life. “Powerful the song entices, overwhelmingly surges the spell,” Erda sings, “I am awakened from a vigilant sleep. Who dares disturb my slumber?”


Solastalgia, 2023

Needle-felted tapestry

250 x 120 cm

Knitted wool, yarn, roving on wool mix


Soliphilia

Das Lied von der Erde

[The love of the totality of our place, relationships and a willingness to accept interdependent solidarity, and the wholeness needed between people to overcome alienations disempowerment in decision making about the environment]



Mein Schlaf ist Traumen, mein Traumen Sinnen, mein Sinnen Walten des Wissens.

—Erda, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Richard Wagner


The heart, an enduring symbol of love and life, is positioned at the core of the tapestry. It connects with a distressed, circling falcon in search of its absent nest, its talons firmly embedded in the bleeding heart. The Western iconography is deliberate. The ‘Holy Heart’, a Christian devotional depiction, carries profound symbolism, representing the eternal love of Jesus. 


Cast in vibrant red yarn and roving; the wandering falcon under a crimson sun; all seem on a quest for love to mitigate the dark, purple backdrop. “My sleep is dreaming, my dreaming is sensing, my senses reign all knowledge.”


Soliphilia, 2023

Needle-felted tapestry

250 x 120 cm

Knitted wool, yarn, roving on wool mix



Symbioment

Das Lied von der Erde

[Life works with life to further life - the philosophical basis for how we may view other. Abandoning the environment does nothing but perpetuate our separation.]




Wie alles war weiss ich: wie alles wird, wie alles sein wird: seh’ich auch der ew’gen Welt Urwald.

—Erda, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Richard Wagner


The third tapestry in the ‘Das Lied von der Erde’ series unravels the enigma as Erda conjures the essence of her being; How everything was I perceive: how everything evolves, how everything will be: I also behold, an eternal world's primeval forest, Erda.


In the upper left corner, the sun completes the celestial narrative initiated in the preceding piece. Two ravens, Heugin and Meugin, bask in the sun—a reference to Wotan’s companions in Norse mythology. Etymologically, Heugin is linked to memory, that what is in the brain, while Meugin symbolises everything one intellectually has, that which one metaphorically owns. They are perched on the branches of Ygg Drasil, the Axis Mundi, that emerges from the background. The tree bridges heaven and earth, and protects the world and humanity from all evil. 


In the upper right corner, the vigilant eyes of the gods manifest through the double headed eagle. Every detail in the composition is rendered in yellow and green yarn and roving, creating a vivid tableau that weaves together the cosmic and mythic. 


Symbioment, 2023

Needle-felted tapestry

250 x 120 cm

Knitted wool, yarn, roving on wool mix


Mermerosity

Das Lied von der Erde

[An anticipatory state of being worried about the possible passing of the familiar and its replacement by that which does not sit comfortably in one’s sense of place. Anthropogenic culpability and enhanced empathy for the non-human.]




Du bist nicht, was du dich nenn’st. Was kam'st du, störrischer Wilder, zu storen der Wala Schlaf?

—Erda, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Richard Wagner


In this fourth tapestry, we encounter the inverse of the protective Yggdrasil, the tree shielding us from malevolence. Its trunk and branches are morphed into six weeping women, Pleureuses, seemingly emerging from the roots.


Continuing the thematic elements from previous tapestries, the apex of the foundational composition - crafted here in verdant green - takes on the appearance of arabesques, transformed into the faces and desperate hands of the Pleureuses, the mournful women.


Mourning is a profound hurt, influenced both biologically and culturally. We find ourselves on a collective journey of global mourning. In the left-hand corner, a squirrel, messenger between gods and humans, rushes to deliver troubling tidings from Mother Earth. Contemplating the vast changes unfolding, we seem lost as we navigate a Valley of Detachment, as expressed enigmatically by Erda’s words: “Thou art not what thou call’st thyself. Why hast thou, stubborn savage, come to disturb the sleep of Wala?”


Mermerosity, 2023

Needle-felted tapestry

250 x 120 cm

Knitted wool, yarn, roving on wool mix 


Sumbiosic

Das Lied von der Erde

[Cumulative types of active and purposive relationships and attributes created by humans that enhance mutual interdependence and mutual benefit for ALL living beings so as to conserve and maximise a state of unity-in-diversity, life together indefinitely.] 




Mannerthaten um dämmern mir den Muth; mich Wissende selbst bezwang ein Waltender einst.

—Erda, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Richard Wagner


Set against a blue knitted backdrop, the tapestry unravels its narrative in blue yarn and roving. The genesis of human transgression unfolds, starting with the expulsion from paradise. From his demise, a tree grew from the grave of the first Man, Adam, a symbol that, according to apocrypha, provided the wood for the crucifix of the Son of God. The sign of the cross finds its place nestled within the architectural intricacies of the arabesques. Unity prevails—nature and life intricately connected, much like the mycelium that binds this composition in a strikingly dramatic fashion. 


Erda deliriously sends us on our way with a sharp condemnation: “Man's deeds have damned my courage; My cognizant self was once subdued by a wayward wonderer.”


Sumbiosic, 2023

Needle-felted tapestry

250 x 120 cm

Knitted wool, yarn, roving on wool mix


Topoaversion

Das Lied von der Erde

[The feeling that you do not wish to return to a place that you once loved and enjoyed when you know that it has been irrevocably changed for the worse]




Der den Trotz lehre, straft den Trotz? Der die That entzündet, zürnt um die That? Der die Rechte wahrt, der die Eide hütet, wehret dem Recht, herrscht durch Meineid?

—Erda, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Richard Wagner


We all know that the environment is changing. Is it changing for the worse? These days that just depends on how you look at it. The world will spin on, even if humankind is no longer part of the big blue merry-go-round. 


Against a cyan knitted backdrop, the once regal Sisyphus emerges, burdened by an imaginary rock woven from brown yarn and roving. Much like the mythical figure, we find ourselves ensnared in a self-imposed punishment, driven by our arrogance and the conviction we can triumph over all challenges. Each day, we laboriously drag the weight of our own creation towards a summit, only to discover the next dawn demands we recommence the journey.


We exist in a state of bewilderment, where certainties are now uncertainties. What was up has become down, and the arabesques, once pointing to the heavens, now also lead us towards the abyss. The oracle, embodied by Erda, whispers lamentations carried away by the wind: “Who has been thought conceit, punishes conceit? He who kindles achievement, is aggravated because of achievement? He who preserves the rights, who protects oaths; defies justice, reigns by perjury?”


Topoaversion, 2023

Needle-felted tapestry

250 x 120 cm

Knitted wool, yarn, roving on wool mix


Tierracide

Das Lied von der Erde

[God is dead, we have terminated him; Gaia is dead, we have uprooted her.]




Ich warnte dich; du weisst genug: sinn’ in Sorg’ und Furcht!

—Erda, Der Ring des Nibelungen, Richard Wagner 


Against the vibrant orange knitted backdrop of the seventh tapestry in ‘Das Lied von der Erde,’ we witness the Lamb engaged in a game of chess with Death. Every detail is crafted with a plethora of festive yarn, featuring shades of purple, grey, and pink. Similar to Bergman’s film, where the Lamb breaks the seventh seal, the impending dance of death and destruction appears unavoidable. The arabesques atop the tapestry realign, signaling that the rapture will restore order to the earthly Valley of Poverty and Nothingness. Only by winning the proverbial game of chess humankind can be saved.


Erda has merged back into the roots of eternity, and as an echo, her final song resounds: “I warned you; you know enough; contemplate—in distress and dread!” 


Tierracide, 2023

Needle-felted tapestry

250 x 120 cm

Knitted wool, yarn, roving on wool mix


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