PRIMITIVE MATS FROM THE SAHARA | 2012
Nomad mats from the Saharan desert amidst Mauritania, Mali and Senegal.
Rigorous, noble, silent.
Chiaroscuros alternating with geometric designs, identical to the Saharan petroglyphs, with an absolute lack of ornaments. These are mats made of long strips of dromedary skin or sheepskin, intertwined with light and resistant strips of palm wood. The skins are dyed with vegetable or mineral colours before being woven to the wood.
These are the only materials available in the immense sandy expanse of the desert, materials that the women weave to construct a shelter or floors or walls to be isolated from the sun, the sand and the cold.
The mats are incredibly strong and light. Rolled up, they voyage on the dromedaries’ flanks. Inside and outside the tents, they are a perfect protection from sand for the nomads and their families. The Saharan mats contain the entire life of the Tuaregs and travel together with them.
Chiaroscuros alternating with geometric designs, identical to the Saharan petroglyphs, with an absolute lack of ornaments. These are mats made of long strips of dromedary skin or sheepskin, intertwined with light and resistant strips of palm wood. The skins are dyed with vegetable or mineral colours before being woven to the wood.
These are the only materials available in the immense sandy expanse of the desert, materials that the women weave to construct a shelter or floors or walls to be isolated from the sun, the sand and the cold.
The mats are incredibly strong and light. Rolled up, they voyage on the dromedaries’ flanks. Inside and outside the tents, they are a perfect protection from sand for the nomads and their families. The Saharan mats contain the entire life of the Tuaregs and travel together with them.
