Mourning Materialized
RENS X ZUIDERZEEMUSEUM
One of the most conspicuous traditions and customs in the Zuiderzee region was the characteristic costume in times of mourning. People who had lost a loved one wore regulation colours in shades varying from deep dark blue or blackimmediately after the death, to red when the mourning period was concluded.

The moment when one could switch from one colour to the other was laid down in codes and regulations. Further the duration of the period of mourning
was determined by the relationship that the bereaved had with the deceased. In this way everyone could see without being told in what stage the person in
mourning was, as well as the seriousness of the lost.
TAPESTRIES AS BIOGRAPHIES
This was the central idea that the designers duo RENS used as a point of departure for a study that resulted in an unusual exhibition: here tapestries are displayed dyed according to traditional methods and manifesting both the different stages and the duration of the mourning costume.
RENS made a profound study of the lives of inhabitants of the Zuiderzee region, whose moments of mourning they translated into a visual presentation like grooves. The tapestries, the length of which reflects people’s life span, this represent a unique biography in colour and material.
Year: 2014
Photography: Lisa Klappe




RENS X ZUIDERZEEMSUEM
The Zuiderzeemuseum, a cultural history museum located in Enkhuizen on the former Zuiderzee (now: IJsselmeer), asked the designers of RENS in 2014 to study the characteristic mourning costumes in the Zuiderzee region.
The exploration of the history of human relationships unveils unexpected visual narratives. This thorough investigation led to the creation of biographical tapestries that reflect an individual's life span and subsequent stages of grief and mourning. RENS captured these narratives in a poetic approach with endless possibilities in materials and colours, ready for further elaboration.
‘The mission of our museum is to promote the (im)material culture of the Zuiderzee region. Designers like RENS help us to fulfill this assignment. The designers have succeeded in materialising local mourning traditions into a very innovative and most of all personal way.’
— Femke van Drongelen, Head of Presentation & Education, Zuiderzeemuseum


For the love of Red
RENS has been and continues to be enamored by the allure of colour. In the early 2000s, the designers embarked on a series of experiments, daringly applying exclusively red pigments to a diverse array of materials: textiles, wood, metals, plastics.
Red has a beginning, but it seems to have no end: read about the shared history of red and RENS.

