‘The Clothed Home: Tuning In To The Seasonal Imagination’ explores the ways in which textiles are used to reflect the rhythm of seasonal changes in domestic interiors. It recalls bygone rituals through an art installation, seeking inspiration for contemporary climate-responsive design. Living between centrally heated apartments and air-conditioned offices, we have become indifferent to the nuances of nature’s changing cycles. Contemporary design can help us tune into the seasons again. Conceptually rooted in Polish textile designs from the pre electricity era, the installation recalls domestic rituals that allow us to cultivate our relationship with the natural world and react more attentively to its continued changes.
In manor houses, aristocratic mansions and peasant cottages of pre-modern Poland, textiles were widely used as seasonal clothing for architecture. They helped adapt domestic spaces to the twelve phenological seasons characteristic of the Central European climate zone. Their recurring appearance in domestic interiors allowed for conscious participation in the cycles of nature – in celebrating the passage of time, with an enhanced sense of immersion in the circadian rhythm, and the sequence of light and darkness. As a result, ‘The Clothed Home’ functions as a resonator, helping residents feel the pulse of the natural world. By clothing a room of Somerset House, the installation sets out to offer visitors a similar, multi-sensory experience.

All textiles were designed by Alicja Bielawska and woven by: Folk Art Wijata, In Weave (Beata Wietrzyńska), “Koronka–Bobowa”: Spółdzielnia Pracy Rzemiosła Ludowego i Artystycznego (Agata Król, Danuta Myśliwiec, embroidery: Jadwiga Śliwa) and prof. Zenovia Shulha. Tailoring: Klaudia Filipiak (LAZY STUDIO).

Organized by The Adam Mickiewicz Institute