Gary Hume, Water Tiger, detail, 2018-2019.
Gary Hume, Water Tiger, detail, 2018-2019.
Gary Hume, portrait courtesy the artist. Image Dan Fontanelli.
Fabrication image, courtesy Christopher Farr.
Gary Hume
(dimensions are variable as each rug is handmade)
Further images
This rug is woven in a high knot count to show off the intricate design and allow an antique look for the wool field. The tiger motif was woven in silk which contrasts with the matt wool that has then been cut short to emphasise the relief effect.
'We can't let tigers become the stuff of myth and fairy tale. These majestic animals must remain to remind us of the magic inherent in reality. I hope that this project and my involvement with it might make the plight of these resplendent creatures more visible in the minds of people who weren't aware of their imminent danger and might, in turn, encourage them to realise they can, through the purchase of something beautiful, contribute towards the continued existence of something exquisite.
My rug is conceived from an understanding of the symbolism in Tibetan Tantric Buddhism of the tiger as the powerful, desirous, unstable and dangerous mind. The tiger is struggling to retain its power, but here - instead of residing in heat and energy - it swims in cool moonlight, its claws have detached, and its tail lies under the water. Its existence ripples with the surface of the water as it struggles for survival.
My message with this artwork is that I think we ought to be looking out into the wider, wilder world and become less concerned with our own individual mortality and more concerned with the threat to so many beautiful and extraordinary species that inhabit the same planet and contribute so much to its richness, diversity and wonder.'
- Gary Hume
Exhibitions
Tomorrow's Tigers (2019) at Sothebys, London, United Kingdom.
Tomorrow's Tigers (2019-2020) Academician's Room at The Royal Academy of Arts, London.