Rhizome¶

Everything is linked; I see everything as interconnected.

This idea forms the main thread of my work: uncovering how identity is revealed when a place's resources, people, and history are interwoven.

What if a place could tell its identity through its resources, inhabitants, know-how, and landscapes? For me, it’s Annabel. I’m searching for my roots within the territories I inhabit, using place and its connections to define identity. Today, I am taking you to explore Brussels, and more specifically the GreenFabric in Forest, becomes my case study for the Rhizome — a concept where every element intertwines, making each story and resource part of a larger, creative whole.

-1- The quest for identity through territories¶

Originally from... , born in..., expatriated in... Where am I really? This question, I have transposed it to the places, and if a territory, like a person, needed to reconnect with its roots to exist? »

Concept of the Rhizome¶

Inspired by Deleuze and Guattari, the Rhizome is a metaphor for these invisible links that connect heritage, geography, humans, and infrastructure. In Brussels, I found my laboratory: the GreenFabric, a textile third-place where I want to collect, mix, and valorize dormant resources.

*Rhizome is a philosophical concept created by Gilles Deleuze and Felix Guattari, in the book 'A Thousand Plateaus' in 1980

Systemic issue¶

In a world where cities are becoming standardized, how can we reveal a place's unique identity through its forgotten materials?

-2- The GreenFabric, a map to explore¶

Context¶

The GreenFabric is an ecosystem at the heart of a district marked by contrasts: between industrial wastelands (such as the old Audi factory), artisan workshops, and natural parks. A territory where everything coexists, like the stitches of a knit.

Resources¶

Here, the dormant stocks of textile factories become my raw material for testing and dreaming. I collect, analyze, and transform them.

Data¶

The principle will be to map local resources: yarns, natural dyes, and know-how. Sites open to the public gathering static, geographical data...

The principle will be to map local resources: yarns, natural dyes, and know-how. Sites open to the public gathering static, geographical data... Each element tells a story.

-3- Experiment to reveal invisible links¶

3 areas of experimentation:

Semi-industrial knitting (Kniterate): A programmable knitting machine to mix yarns, colors, and create textures that reflect the diversity of the territory.
Biomaterials and natural dyes: I test material associations for their properties (to recreate natural materials,
Embroidery on collected materials Patterns inspired by neighborhood maps, embroidered on collected fabrics, as a metaphor for human connections.”

First experiment¶

Fabricademy marks the beginning of a longer-term process. Experimentation begins with exploration with the Kniterate. This first phase will allow for a review of the collection, experimentation and valorization processes.

Process¶

Each prototype is an exploration: how can local resources respond to and mutually enhance one another?

-4- Creation of an installation and a collaborative project¶

Target audiences¶

This project is aimed at managers of a public place and local communities who want to rethink their relationship with the territory.

Valuation¶

My research notebook and my large-format prototypes will be exhibited to show how a place can reinvent itself through its own resources.

Vision¶

Ultimately, this process should naturally move towards the creation of participatory workshops where everyone can contribute to this lively mapping.

Rhizome, a concept where everything intersects, where each thread, each subject, each story becomes a resource to create.