Michael Chapman
HIGHLY COMMENDED
‘Apocalypse’
This tapestry design explores the apocalypse from a contemporary setting, creating a ruined archipelago of incomplete islands, stitched together through a sea of intertwining threads and holes. It draws its inspiration from the 138-meter long Apocalypse Tapestry, commissioned in Anjou by Louis I in 1373. Originally comprising 90 panels, only 72 have survived. The design recreates the tapestry with its "holes" in order to expose the intricate art of weaving, as well as the imperfect and unravelling realities of the contemporary world. Telling the story of the book of revelations, the original tapestry is an episodic depiction of the original author/storyteller as he encounters the monsters of the apocalypse and the angels above.
The ground of the original tapestry becomes the unifying and binding element, creating an urban landscape where events take place. In the design, the author is represented by an abandoned grain silo, evoking the "surplus" within our society that enabled the city to emerge, and also stories of its ruination. Petrochemical plants represent the monsters and lipstick canisters mark the angels. The holes remain to not only remind us of the incompleteness of our contemporary world, but also our own agency in filling in the gaps.
The work exposes the process of tapestry by revealing its construction and deconstruction against the architectural surface of the gallery. The tapestry is designed to sit against the bare concrete wall of SITE 3: Basement Gallery, aligned to the vertical panel joints, and replicating the original tapestry at a scale of 1:15. The complete tapestry measures 9.2 metres wide, sitting comfortably on the 11 metre wall as you enter. The design uses a combination of red and orange hues and patterns to evoke both the apocalypse, and fire. These colours are intended to marry with the burnt and golden hues of the existing tapestry, but in a monochromatic frame in order to engage with both the space, and the post-industrial context of the new millennium. The design is framed in a frontal axonometric to exaggerate the depth of surfaces and to introduce woven shadows, as well as cast shadows into the composition.
Michael Chapman is is Professor of Architecture at the University of Newcastle, where he has taught since 2001. He has worked in architectural practice since 2003, focussing on residential and small scale architectural projects and art collaborations. His architectural drawing and conceptual design work has been widely exhibited, including at: the Museum of Melbourne, the State Library of NSW, Lake Macquarie Regional Gallery, and published in ‘Residue:Architecture as a Condition of Loss’ (Melbourne: RMIT Press, 2007).
