After its debut at Syntonyms last year, MOME Laboratory displays another interdisciplinary, integrative and experimental project at the Vienna Design Week with Hungary as this year's the guest country. 2nd year MA textile student Zsanett Szirmay's work may be perceived as the feminine match for last year's successful Syntonyms. While the black sombreness, 270-page data documentation and technicalisation of Syntonyms represented the rational male principle and essence, while the white “laces”, airy playfulness, “rococo” grace and jingling tunes of Soundweaving clearly create a feminine realm. At the core of the Soundweaving project is the traditional cross-stitching pattern used in Hungarian folk embroidery transformed into sound by a punch card comb music player. The cross-stitch pattern of holes on the tape in the musical box were punched by the creator, Zsanett Szirmay.
In this case, the punched tape acts as the score. Embroidered shirts and pillows from the Transylvanian Bukovina, and from Kalotaszeg and Hungary served as a basis for the patterns. As part of the transformation, embroidery patterns turned into laser cut textile pieces, and cross-stitched patterns into melodies. Soundweaving equally stimulates all senses, and calls for interaction. The project uses multiple media and communicates on diverse planes, combining the borderlands of folk art, design and music. It belongs to the analogue and digital realms at the same time as the handmade embroidery is translated into laser cut patterns. At the same time, the visual world is presented in audio, or rather the graphic aspect of music gets a role in developing the tunes. Bálint Tárkány-Kovács, folk musician and composer was instrumental in the audio mapping and developing the tunes.
She is a 2nd year MA student at MOME's Department of Textile Design. She is a member of the Society of Hungarian Electrography and a regular participant at the Society's group exhibitions. She has already had numerous exhibitions at the Heimtextil fair in Frankfurt. Her designer approach is characterised by venturesome experimentation and integrative thinking.
Cimbalom player, musician, composer. Founder of the Tárkány Művek (Tárkány Works) band with a folk music approach to jazz. Tárkány Művek won the prestigious Junior Prima award in 2012. He is a member of several bands, plays traditional shepherd and rural folk music, and also deals with music pedagogy, composing, song-writing and record publishing.
