Entangled Matters by Adrian Pepe

This year, the programming at Dubai Design Week spotlighted rising and established talent from Lebanon with the aim of supporting its design community amid a struggling economy. One of such projects was the Beirut Concept Store, curated by Mariana Wehbe, which brought to the fore the diverse talent existing is Lebanon today. While the chaotic exhibition of sorts presented a number of promising works, one designer stood out. Honduras-born and Beirut-based textile designer Adrian Pepe’s ‘Entangled Matters’ project explores the ancient animal fibre of the Awassi wool that has bred in the region for over 5,000 years. ‘Entangled Matters’ exposes the process of cultivating wool, through dyeing, spinning, braiding, hand-guided embroidery and felting, transforming the material into artefacts that are laden with narrative, symbology and intimacy, highlighting the association between craftspeople and the object. Working directly with local shepherds and craftspeople, the series of works explores centuries-old modes of production that forge an intimate relationship with the wool material. With the introduction of synthetic alternatives and better-quality wool from other parts of the wool, the wool of the Awassi sheep is being discarded, Pepe says. “There are approximately half a million sheep in Lebanon alone, which produce almost 1,000 tonnes of wool every year,” he says. “We want to look at pre-industrial modes of production because it is the only way we can create a more intimate relationship with objects in general; by understanding the sentient provider that gives us the raw material. And the only way of understanding it is by getting your hands dirty, to put it simply. This also creates a culture of care.” He continues: “I think it is important to expose the process in order to develop intimacy. Today, I think there is an anguish in people not being able to relate to their surroundings because their surroundings are so fabricated, so there is this desire to understand the roots and the history of how things came into being, and you see that in younger generations, specifically. Today, we also see this proliferating in the art and design worlds.”