The Source by cc-tapis: a visual journey into contemporary rug craftsmanship
Every story begins somewhere. For cc-tapis, it starts high in the Himalayas. The Source unfolds there—between Kathmandu and Leh—captured on 16mm film, tracing the origins of a gesture that is both ancient and profoundly human. The project reveals the quiet, authentic world behind each rug, offering an intimate look at the people, places, and rhythms that bring them to life.
Founded in 2011, cc-tapis has introduced a new visual language within the contemporary rug landscape. In its ateliers across Nepal and India, silk, linen, and Himalayan wool are crafted by hand, following techniques passed down through generations. In Milan, this heritage meets research and experimentation, resulting in pieces that move beyond decoration to become true sensory experiences.
The Source moves through landscapes and faces to explore where cc-tapis’ sensibility takes shape. Every knot, every wool fiber reflects the steady cadence of skilled hands and a tradition preserved in near silence. Here, craft becomes a form of communication: the weave tells stories of dedication, balance, and the dialogue between past and present.
At the heart of The Source are four emblematic collections: Rebus by India Mahdavi, Hypercode by Roberto Sironi, The Color of Copper (TCOC) by Kwangho Lee, and Ripple by Patricia Urquiola. Each rug offers a distinct perspective on the world, yet all are rooted in the same foundation: craftsmanship, time, and the transformative nature of material.
Rebus by India Mahdavi turns the rug into a visual code waiting to be deciphered. Shapes, words, and symbols intertwine in a playful, cryptic language suspended between abstraction and symbolism. Handcrafted in the cc-tapis ateliers in Kathmandu, the rugs reveal delicate gradients created by alternating wool fibers in varying saturations—subtle, poetic, and meticulously refined.
With Hypercode, Roberto Sironi builds a visual archive of collective memory. Ancient carvings, mythological glyphs, and urban graffiti merge into a narrative that spans cultures and eras. Woven on jacquard looms in India, these rugs combine Greco-Roman inscriptions, Japanese characters, and contemporary iconography—a reminder of the universal human impulse to leave a mark.
Rooted in Kwangho Lee’s exploration of material transformation, The Color of Copper (TCOC) reinterprets the oxidation process through four hand-knotted rugs made of pure silk, Himalayan wool, and aloe fibers. Together, these materials create geometric compositions that mirror the shifting tones of living metal—from deep burnished red to patinated green.
Each piece captures the beauty of change: matter transforming into light, warmth, and energy, like a metal breathing over time.
With Ripple, Patricia Urquiola translates the fluidity of the digital gesture into a tactile movement. Overlapping, undulating lines generate a near-kinetic effect, heightened by variations in pile height and texture. Ochre, pink, and green tones amplify this sense of motion, turning wool into a lively, vibrating surface. It is an innovative rug in which technology and craftsmanship meet in a seamless equilibrium.
In The Source, cc-tapis celebrates the human dimension of design. Each rug is a narrative woven from time, light, and memory. The film doesn’t simply show how these pieces are made—it reveals the truth that animates them: slowness as a value, material as language, the hand as origin. A reminder that every work of design begins with a gesture.
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