The Desert Trilogy

Inspired by the films of Tunisian director Nacer Khemir, the Desert Trilogy collection features powdery, vibrant colors, set against one another in varying pile heights, and pot dyed to order by artisans in India. As in past work, we used color and composition to seek a balance between nostalgic and modern perspectives. The Desert Collection rugs continue this exploration, but, in a nod to Khemir’s films, employ looming dreamlike imagery to acknowledge the tension inherent in integrating past and present.

As with several past collections, we chose to build dioramas for each rug style to connect the rugs with the world around them. We structured abstract landscapes for the Passenger dioramas, and domestic still lifes for the Interior:1974, dioramas. This time, we decided to merge our love of film, interior design, architecture, and sculpture by creating detailed miniature rooms to house each rug design. Many of the rooms, like the rugs that inhabit them, were inspired by Khemir’s films; others by vintage interior books from our own home library, and a few were simply rooms we would like to live in.

Photography: Jonathan Hökklo