We evolve in a society based
on erroneous ideas towards production, indeed synthetic materials are
considered as elements of the future while we know they are doomed to failure.
They come from non-renewable resources, pollute and cause many problems. Faced
with this observation we can seek to revalue natural materials because these,
through their many qualities, are quite capable of facing our contemporary
challenges. For this work, which I voluntarily oriented around textiles, I
chose to focus on wool.
Wool is an integral part of the history of the textile industries of the
Lille metropolis, it was very present until the middle of the 20th century.
However, following the economic crisis and relocation, French production has
almost entirely disappeared. Sheep continue to be raised in France; fleeces are
still produced there - because shearing is necessary for the health of sheep -
but they are devalued in the eyes of breeders. They mainly send them to Asia to
be transformed or abandon them to the manure.
Today wool is mainly replaced by acrylic because it is cheaper to
produce. Unfortunately, acrylic is derived from fossil resources, so it is
polluting, flammable and of lesser quality.
Wool seems to be undervalued today, yet it has many abilities and the deployment
of its use would be very interesting in our society. It has hydroscopic
qualities, thermal/phonic insulation, it is analergenic, not very sensitive to
static electricity, not very flammable and its combustion does not create toxic
fumes. Moreover, it allows to neutralize in a durable way interior pollutants
like formaldehyde.
My research led me to a study directed by Gabriele Wortmann, researcher
at the DWI (German Wool Institute). This study highlights the capacity of wool
to absorb and neutralize formaldehyde in a significant way.
This last asset caught my attention. Indeed, we are becoming more and
more aware of the large presence of pollutants in our homes. The main volatile
danger of the interiors is the formaldehyde, we can find it in the paints, the
carpets, the wood agglomerate, the glues, etc... The formaldehyde was
recognized carcinogenic in 2004 by the IARC (International Agency for Research
on Cancer) and the children are particularly vulnerable to it because this
substance influences their development. I was therefore interested in them with
the ambition to create a product that would sanitize their living space.
My project was born under the name of Atlas, it is an activity carpet
dedicated to children.
The wool tufted carpet is composed of a flat element and an element
imitating a vault at one of its corners. The fibers are colored in five
variations of blue. Atlas plays with the variations of texture and color to
form a chimerical landscape. The child can develop his imagination: explore the
different tufted areas, stand on the main island or inspect the mysterious
cave. The child is thus made aware of nature, and protected by it thanks to the
ability of wool to neutralize formaldehyde.
Beyond the carpet of awakening, Atlas is a sanitizing, poetic and
responsible furniture which agrees with the notion of the future.
