Period Room 001 and 002
When considering the wall coverings in Room 001 however, there is little space for free compositions. The late 18th century period rooms have a strongly symmetrical disposition of tracings and panelling whereby certain wall surfaces were left open to be finished with textile wall coverings. The photographic images of material assemblages which Driessen+Van Deijne had used before were used here as well. The difference being that for these prominent and highly representative rooms the images were first woven into a Jacquard fabric which was then photographed and printed onto the wall covering cloths. These were sewn, tensioned and mounted into the recesses of the wood wallpanelling. And so here, on close inspection one sees weaving ties and threads appearing as an extra overlay. This added layer of representation offers these tapestries a still more abstract and suggestive quality than the acoustic panels.
The expressive dynamics of the capricious shapes is controlled and framed by picking up the rigid symmetry of neoclassicist wallpanelling. A Series of mirrored patterns and rhythms, created by a symmetric distribution of panels ensure a static form of dynamism in the room so that one is not overwhelmed by de highly expressive prints. The yellow hue in the photographed fabric compliments beautifully the goldleaf ornaments in the space. Sweeping and curling lines in the coverings seem to extend the gold garlands over the central ornamental mirror.
Room 002, which is situated adjacent to Room 001, has a similar symmetrically distributed framing and paneling. Where ornaments in the former room were goldcoloured and had a floral motif, ornaments in this one are more geometrical and painted in a modest pale blue. This room received wallcoverings in warmer and darker colours which seem to be dominated by a bronze-ish hue. For the prints on these coverings Driessen+Van Deijne photographed the reverse of the Jacquard fabric they used in Room 001. As opposed to the tight imagery of the front, the reverse reveals loops and sags, draped in between the tightly woven sections. These floating conductive threads are distributed haphazardly, crossing and ducking over the surface, adding wonderfully rich textures, shadows and shines which imbue the image with yet an extra depth.
Where in Room 001 colouring of textile and paneling were complimentary, here the light paintwork and the darker coverings form a contrast. It suggests a vista which appears to reveal a more abstract, ethereal and atmospheric space.
For both the panels and the wallcoverings a set of just 20 images was used. The resulting unity in thematics and imagery laid down a foundation through which Driessen+Van Deijne have managed to bond the highly diverse spaces of Janskerkhof 2/3.
Text: Miegiel Loeffen
