Formation 1 Rug

Of Arabic derivation, “Dag allah” literally means “saved by god”. This term is the origin of the Italian word dagala, a word which refers to the islands of vegetation which emerge from the desolate volcanic landscape of solidified lava around Mount Etna.

This was the starting point for Edoardo Piermattei, an Italian artist based in Turin, who sees this term as the link between eastern and western cultures, between rug artisans and consumers. Playing with these origins, the artist further transformed the word into Dagallà, seeing the possibility of creating new formations that emerge from the surface of a rug. Dagallà becomes “the skin of this new formation.” – as described by the artist.

The transitional shift from materials such as cement and pigment to wool and textile was for Edoardo Piermattei a natural consequence of his personal creative approach but working on a collection of rugs meant a literal change of perspective. Accustomed to large scale frescos, murals and sculptures, the artist worked from the bottom up and his creative process underwent a reversal: starting from an aerial view. “Having this cartographic perspective from above is like entering somewhere...stepping onto an emerged world.” An interpretation from above that evokes the link of the original divine meaning of the term “Dag allah”.