Diana Al-Hadid’s rug design, titled An Evolution, is based on her 2016 wall sculpture The Extinction, which references the oldest known hand-knotted rug, the Pazyryk Rug, woven in the fifth century BC, most likely in Persia. A three-dimensional piece masquerading as a painting, The Extinction was created by meticulously layering polymer gypsum, fiberglass, steel, plaster, aluminum leaf, and pigment to construct a lattice-like structure whose appearance changes subtly but palpably as the viewer’s perspective shifts. The work is a study in contradictions: strong materials expressed as a fragile object, a complete piece that looks to be an eroded remnant of something else, a heavy mass that seems to float in midair. These physical characteristics are manifestations of conceptual underpinnings that extend beyond art to the human experience, including notions of displacement, belonging, and how context can influence meaning and identity.
