Soundweaving is an interdisciplinary, integrative project by textile artist Zsanett Szirmay, the essence of which is the traditional textile pattern and its sonic representation transcribed for the punch-card and musical comb. In the process of transformation, Hungarian folk cross-stitch patterns, Islamic carpet patterns and Japanese motifs are transformed into laser-cut textiles, and textile motifs into melody. Soundweaving simultaneously engages multiple senses and invites interaction. Pushing the boundaries of genre, the textile and sound installation presents a world of melodies and motifs from four continents.
Combining the boundaries of folk art, design and music, the project uses multiple media, communicating on multiple planes. It belongs as one to the analogue and digital worlds, in that handmade embroideries and carpet patterns are reinterpreted as laser-cut patterns. At the same time, the visual world is presented in an auditory way, and the graphic character of the music is used to construct the melody lines. Pushing the boundaries of contemporary visual art, the work simultaneously represents the meeting of tradition and technique, visuality and auditory. The pixel-graphic transcription, which corresponds to a binary code system, is a unique idea by textile artist Zsanett Szirmay. The musical transcription of the patterns was transformed into one-minute etudes by musicians and composers Bálint Tárkány-Kovács and Dániel Vikukel.
The first edition of Soundweaving was inspired by cross-stitch motifs, while the second edition of the project, Soundweaving Middle East Edition, was inspired by carpet patterns and architectural elements from the Middle Eastern culture.In October 2018, Soundweaving 7.0 – Pergamon Edition – a project commissioned by the Pergamon Museum Staatliche Museen zu Berlin – was presented at the Pergamon Museum in Berlin, a transcription of the museum’s tapestry collection.
The latest edition in the series is Soundweaving 8.0 – Japan Edition, with textile designs inspired by katagami, katazome and kimono motifs. Among the patterns on the punch tape is the traditional Japanese song Sakura-Sakura. In 2018, melodies and textile installations were also created using folk art motifs from the Visegrad 4 countries. The resulting Soundweaving V4 Edition was presented in Prague, Bratislava, Warsaw, Lodz and Budapest in connection with the Hungarian V4 Presidency’s cultural and scientific programme.
The eight editions of Soundweaving have now been presented in Europe, Asia and the Middle East regions with the support of Hybridart Management, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Ybl Creative House and the Hungarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.