Casting Spells
The magic of water, air and sun
A text by Monika Auch
Emilie Pallard and Niels Heymans created their collection Casting Spells—consisting of a helmet, a plastron (breastplate), and a cape—on commission for the museum's collection.
Curator Carolien Boot was captivated by the poetic quality of Emilie’s work. Emilie graduated with honors in 2010 from the Design Academy. Niels Heymans studied in Den Bosch and is an expert in working with computer software. They have been collaborating for several years, exploring the boundary between craftsmanship and virtual reality.
Each piece in Casting Spells is made from solid materials such as metal, leather, and textile. They radiate a mysterious dynamism—soft and majestic at the same time.
The collection was designed and produced in the TextielLab using the laser cutter, weaving and embroidery machines, with a “finishing touch” of precise handwork.
A helmet represents the shimmering sun, a cape the moving air, and a plastron the reflective water. Their sources of inspiration were the magic of water, sun, and wind—and how indigenous cultures ward off magic by wearing mirrors and adding embroidery to their clothing.
“We needed our drawings and the world of ideas behind them to give shape to the magic—otherwise, they would have been just ordinary accessories,” says Niels.
Especially the meditative aspect of embroidery added, for them, a sense of magic to the textiles. He explains:
“This refers to the magic of digital technology as well—you don’t see what’s happening at chip level either. And embroidery as a technique best suits the delicacy of our design sketches.”
The helmet is made of leather, embroidered with gold thread in a continuous stitch by a computer-controlled machine. The leather was then shaped on a hat mold.
The plastron is woven from mohair yarn, and its form was finished by hand. The mirrors are polished stainless steel pieces, laser-cut and added manually.
The cape consists of 327 laser-cut pieces, sewn together by hand for a perfect fit.
The designers explain:
“For the cape, we wanted it to fall and move like the feathers on a robin’s chest. It’s precisely the imperfections of the hand-finishing that add the human touch to the computer work.”
Virtual textile
Out of the commission came a fourth, virtual piece. Emilie says:
“Usually, it’s the digital that inspires the textile work—like a loom inspires the woven fabric. This time, it was the textile work that led to a digital image, using Niels’ digital design drawings. He simulated the movements of water and wind-blown sand.”
They display it with a projector: a floating piece of textile moves through space.
It is, as it were, feeling with your eyes.
The virtual image is as lively as the flowing fur of a running dog, with a light, delicate beauty.
Both the virtual and the physical works have been shown in various exhibitions in the Netherlands and abroad.
Year: 2012-2013
Client: Textiel museum Tilburg
Collaborations: Niels Heymans, Textiel lab
Materials: natural leather, mohair, acetate, digital