‘Partition #7 (Femme Blueprint)' consists of four wall hangings. The abstract work is based on and inspired by narratives of women that are dictated by the ‘structural blueprints’ on which our societies are built.
During her artist-in-residency in Japan in 2019, Markus worked with original textiles from ethnologist Chuzaburo Tanaka’s extensive Boro collection. She explored the map-like patterns formed by stitches and patches and translated her observations and sketches into weaving patterns. Using different weaves and shades of blue, she created an interplay between the abstract shapes in the pattern. The repeated details on the back of the fabrics were woven with silver thread and resemble 'railway' scars. The front of the fabrics, where more narrative images are visible, resembles real blueprints. The white warp threads are also visible on the front, creating scar-like edges and lines. The work symbolises everything that is and has been hidden, but also where we come from and where we have to go. To create new blueprints, we must learn from all that has past. Imagination is not enough to create new things; we also need space to heal.
One of the challenges in developing the wall hangings was finding suitable shades of blue. Not only were five different shades of blue needed, but these different shades also had to match visually. Because blue can quickly become too green, red or purple, this proved to be quite a task. In addition, Markus was faced with a more technical challenge. Although the fronts of the wall hangings were all different, the backs had to be the same. This was solved by weaving with different yarns and always using the same selection of these yarns for the back.
After studying psychology and theology at Lund University in Sweden, Charlott Markus joined the photography department at the Gerrit Rietveld Academy in Amsterdam. Since graduating in 2007, she has exhibited her work in numerous solo and group shows in the Netherlands and abroad. She mainly focuses on what she calls ‘extended still lifes’ and spatial installations. By exploring the possibilities and limitations of images, she creates new stories in which materials are used as carriers of meanings, memories and emotions. Markus works across several disciplines including photography, painting and sculpture. She not only explores the relationship between space, colour and form but also emphasises hidden structures, identity and equality.
