120 days – 3D wall hanging

120 days

3D wall hanging:
50 x 120 x 8 cm

Wet felted, nuno-felted, inclusions, resist techniques, stitch.

Hand dyed merino wool, hand dyed silk fabric, silk tops and mawata, thread, nylon, rubber.

A fanciful depiction of erythrocytes on the cellular highway of the cardio-vascular system. With over 20 trillion in an adult’s body, red blood cells are flexible biconcave discs. Their mission  is to deliver oxygen to the body tissues. Constantly replenished by bone marrow, they circulate for around 120 days before they expire.

Initial wool layout

Wool layout progressing

Wetting out the wool

Adding shibori elements

Fulling in progress

Closeup of 3D elements

Round inclusions symbolic of red blood cells

Finished and mounted on board

Hanging in gallery

Making 120 days

Using fishing line in textile projects like Substratum is a bit alternative, but the depth it achieves in combination with shrinkage is quite unique. Doing this for this project gives the piece more movement and depth, implying the movement of the red blood cells. The addition of silk fabric adds texture and contrasts with the matt finish of the felt. Washers and plastic discs where embedded in the felting process. Craters were formed to represent the ageing red blood cells at various stages.