Woven nylon monofilament hanging by Rita Parniczky, 2010

A woven hanging in colourless monofilament nylon yarn with supplementary warp threads in hand-dyed black rayon and cotton. Parniczky's novel weaving technique forces the supplementary threads into unnatural paths reminiscent of intricate tributaries or veins. The hanging is attached to an acrylic tube from which it is hung. The hanging combines modern materials and traditional techniques to create an innovative and original aesthetic.

Given by the Worshipful Company of Weavers

Rita Parniczky was awarded the prestigious commission by the Worshipful Company of Weavers shortly after exhibiting at New Designers 2009. The piece was displayed at the Company's headquarters at Saddlers' House from 2010 and was then donated to the V&A in 2016.

The hanging forms part of Parniczky's 'X-Ray Fabric©' series, first developed as part of her graduate work at Central St Martins, which also won the 'Silvery Threads' Geoffrey Squire Memorial Competition 2014 awarded by the Costume & Textiles Association. The X-Ray series was inspired by a colection of photograms that she created from everyday objects.

The hanging was woven on a George Wood loom Parniczky estimates that it took her five to six days to set up the loom for this piece. She could weave between 15 and 20cm per day depending on the complexity of the weft. This was the largest scale piece she had produced to date. The black rayon yarn was hand-dyed by Parniczky.

T.1598-2017