7 tapestries

STORIED THREADS OF CONNECTION

ROTTERDAM—Ancient wisdom and modern ecological philosophy are traveling companions in the seven-part textile quest  Das Lied von der Erde  by Dutch textile artist and couturier 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 navigates through seven needle-felted metaphorical valleys. A philosophical terrain, part-plea, part-warning, of life seeking out itself. 

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 dives  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 as 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,’ bring 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 them.

"Like Attar’s 'The Conference of the Birds', life seeks out itself," d'Angelino Tap says.

"To protect our feathers, we must hold dear the natural world and existence itself. It's the very fabric we're woven into."