Three Dimensions
Cos Ahmet almost didn’t study art. But once he came to the realisation that art was the one thing that truly excited him, he decided to pursue it as a career. A turn towards textiles came later, but in some ways it was inevitable. After all, he had grown up with a seamstress mother and his earliest memories were of her working away with her sewing machine.
Cos studied Constructed Textiles at Middlesex University after discovering a passion for textiles during his Foundation diploma. At first, he was torn between fine-art and sculpture, liking both but wanting to work in three dimensions. It was Cos’s tutors who had other ideas and guided him towards textiles - it fulfilled all of the aspects of art that appealed to Cos.
The weaving process especially captivated Cos and eventually woven tapestry became his specialism. Cos was drawn to tapestry for both its ancient history and contemporary versatility. As a medium, it is tactile yet conducive to portraying a variety of themes. Cos’s work tends to explore ideas surrounding the self, identity, sexuality and the body - in this way, he becomes the subject of his work. Brain, heart, and organ-like structures, filaments and cords typically feature in his anthology.
In 2017, Cos received the prestigious Theo Moorman Trust for Weavers Award and this year, he has been shortlisted for the Heallreaf Prize.
Blog post by Jessica Edney. Read next: Jennifer Harris' article Underscore in the Carnival issue. Subscribe to Selvedge here.
1 comment
I love his work! My first real job was sweeping floors in an Alabama cotton mill as a teenager. Later on after serving in USN as an attack aviator i worked with Lazarus Fabrics, Design Tex Fabrics , Knoll International and Herman Miller where i learned about textiles. I now weave on a Saori loom using freestyle techniques exploring my creativity as it evolves.(former commercial photographic photojournalist)