Draped Nimbostratus (An Open Window Unit) represents a hybrid form of design, involving textile art, sculpture and architecture. The works is a sound absorbing installation and a result of Bendixen’s PhD thesis on the possibilities of an acoustic textile architecture, in which the placement under the ceiling as well as the folded structure increase the sound absorbing property of the textile.
Draped Nimbostratus (An Open Window Unit) is made of 100 % woven new wool (Divina from Kvadrat A/S) and polyester wire. The cloud is built up of rhombus shaped modules of 175 x 190 cm (in plane state). Draped Nimbostratus is an attempt to develop the architectural potential of sound absorption. Sound absorption ‘sounds’ like an open window – the sound disappears. This was demonstrated by W. C. Sabine in 1898 and consequently he called the unit of measurement Open Window Unit.
Draped Nimbostratus (An Open Window Unit) reveals how a relatively massive and extensive material also visually can construct space as the cloud can give rise to associations to the outside. In this way the visual impression can support the auditory sensation of space. With concurrent auditory and visual expressions, sound absorption can become an architectural parameter and contribute to sensuously nuanced spaces.
The title Draped Nimbostratus refers to the cloud motif but also to the way the textile is folded and draped. This means that the folds in the textile arise from the way the textile hangs – which is determined by its weight versus its stiffness. Only the technique is chosen by the architect – wires draw the textile together – the final form is given by the textile and by gravity. The intention behind the work is to reveal the inherent forces of textile and in the same time obtain a poetic analogy to nature.
Selected exhibitions
May 2015 : Stand Galerie Maria Wettergren, Design Miami/Basel, Switzerland
2014 : Open Window Units, Nicolai, Kolding, Denmark
2012 : Under en Sort Sol, Rundetårn, Copenhagen, Denmark
Draped Nimbostratus (An open window unit)
2013
New wool, polyester thread
100 x 200 cm (rhombus)
Draped Nimbostratus (An open window unit)
2013
New wool, polyester thread
100 x 200 cm (rhombus)
Draped Nimbostratus (An open window unit)
2013
New wool, polyester thread
100 x 200 cm (rhombus)
Draped Nimbostratus (An open window unit)
2013
New wool, polyester thread
100 x 200 cm (rhombus)
Draped Nimbostratus (An open window unit)
2013
New wool, polyester thread
100 x 200 cm (rhombus)
Draped Nimbostratus (An open window unit)
2013
New wool, polyester thread
100 x 200 cm (rhombus)
Draped Nimbostratus (An open window unit)
2013
New wool, polyester thread
100 x 200 cm (rhombus)
Danish artist, Cecilie Bendixen, was born in Copenhagen in 1975 and lives and works in Askov, South Jutland, Denmark. Bendixen graduated as an architect from The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, School of Architecture in 2005, followed by a PhD in 2013. Her practice blends architecture, craft, art, and science to explore and experiment with natural phenomena. Often made from textile and constructed by hand, Bendixen’s work takes the form of spatial installations that capture and express intangible dynamics, such as space, sound, light and wind. The interplay between materials, process, form and environment guides her poetic approach to design and making. Cecilie Bendixen has exhibited extensively internationally including at the World Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art, Madrid; Crafted Matter, Korea; Design Miami Basel and Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition, Copenhagen. She was nominated for the Nordic Textile Awards in 2017, and the same year she received the Bindesboell Medal. Her works are held in private and public collections, including the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; Danish Art Foundation; and the Galila Barzilaï-Hollander Collection, Brussels.
