‘knotted thread-red’ by akiko ikeuchi

for over two decades japanese artist akiko ikeuchi has been creating room-sized vortices of silk, tying hundreds of small knots in coloured thread to form elaborate gallery installations.

beginning with intricate plans resembling architectural diagrams, ikeuchi first lays a foundation structure using cotton thread. next, a second layer using fine silk thread is slowly knotted into a mesh, a process that spans nearly a month for an installation such as the one depicted. the resulting artwork straddles a interesting balance, appearing both imposing in scale yet almost completely weightless.

akiko ikeuchi: silk vortex full view, on exhibition at the museum of contemporary art tokyo

akiko ikeuchi: silk vortex detail view

akiko ikeuchi: silk vortex view from above

akiko ikeuchi: silk vortex ikeuchi handties hundreds to thousands of knots to create each work

akiko ikeuchi: silk vortex

akiko ikeuchi: silk vortex examples of other installations by akiko ikeuchi

akiko ikeuchi: silk vortex this article has been contributed by colossal.