Filmmaker Alec Davis explores the power of memory as he hones in on Fort Street Studios’ hand-knotted rugs
Read moreThe founders of luxury rug makers Fort Street Studio, artists Brad Davis and Janis Provisor have commissioned three up-and-coming New York-based filmmakers to each create an original short film, incorporating their contemporary wild silk hand-knotted carpets whose painterly rug designs are inspired by the couple’s original artworks. ‘It was not about making a commercial,’ Provisor explains. ‘Apart from including a rug, we gave them carte blanche because we wanted stories that would excite us.’
For the filmmaker Alec Davis, this evolved into an elegantly poignant narrative around the power of memory, with soft hues of a ‘Border Reverse Slate’ rug perfectly encapsulating the reflective mood of recalling an old love. ‘By presenting the carpets in films that aren’t “about” the carpets, they can exist as objects integrated into an environment,’ he explains, ‘but the tone and visual emotion in the films also bring out so much of the personality in each rug.’
Each film is unique with Karishma Dev Dube and Haley Anderson’s works exploring family relationships. Provisor says they were inspired by the fashion world’s use of online films to experiment with a dynamic, creative approach for interiors that goes beyond focusing on the craft. ‘The project comes out of our own experience in the art world so it is exciting to give young filmmakers an opportunity to make their own stories that show how we live with carpets at the soul of the room.’
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