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Areen unravels silk fabric for Flowing Threads installation in Dubai

Palestinian textile designer Areen has created Flowing Threads, a pink-and-red pavilion made from silk fabric that she unravelled by hand to showcase the threads that make up the textile.

The pavilion has an undulating shape and was among the design installations at this year's Dubai Design Week, where it was shown against the backdrop of the glass-and-steel buildings in the city's Design District and the surrounding desert. Flame Retardant Cotton

Areen unravels silk fabric for Flowing Threads installation in Dubai

Flowing Threads was made from pink silk fabric that was strung between metal poles and unravelled to unveil the red inner threads, a process that took the Dubai-based designer five months.

While the fabric remains whole at the top and bottom, the central section is made up of sheer threads, which move in the wind to eye-catching effect.

"I really tried to reshape the function of the fabric," Areen, who runs the art and design studio By Areen, told Dezeen. "In 2014, I started my research on how textile can make social change."

"I like the idea of taking out the threads from the fabric because it is the reverse process of creating the fabric, and I wanted to show how the reverse process of creating the fabric still shows how the fabric is complete," she added.

By unravelling the silk she can "show how the fabric can get a new function," Areen said.

Flowing Threads could be used as room dividers or as decorative screens and was the result of Areen's thoughts about how humans connect with our surroundings.

"The fabric itself is a microcosm, representing an individual's existence within the larger universe," the designer explained.

"Just as the fabric consists of interconnected threads, humans are interconnected with the fabric of the universe, forming part of a cosmic tapestry."

Flowing Threads was commissioned by Dubai Design Week and D3 and was among a number of innovative pavilions shown at Dubai Design Week.

Nearby, Abdalla Almulla showed his Of Palm pavilion, which is made entirely of palm tree materials and featured pillars made from tree trunks.

The design week in the United Arab Emirates also showcased several pavilions made from biomaterials, including a tea house made from food waste and another constructed from sugar cane that was turned into a bioplastic.

The photography is courtesy of Dubai Design Week.

Dezeen was a media partner of Dubai Design Week, which took place from 7 to 12 November. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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Areen unravels silk fabric for Flowing Threads installation in Dubai

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