Rachel Whiteread
Untitled (Felt Floor) (1997)
The flat nature of a floor is given depth and dimension by Whiteread in her
work Untitled (Felt Floor). This 13 x 9 foot white felt floor,
reflecting the patterns and shapes of the original wood, was constructed
through a multifaceted, laborious process.
Initially, the artist worked with a
carpenter to build a 5 x 9 foot wood floor in six sections. This original
floor was sandblasted to raise the grain of the wood, and create a slightly
worn appearance.
Next, rubber negatives and then positives were made of each
of the 6 sections. The rubber positives were created because they were more
pliable than the wood, which was necessary for the creation of sand negatives,
the following step. The rubber positives were pressed into damp sand, forming
molds in which bronze positive forms were cast.
Finally, these six bronze plates were heated and pressed into thick white wool
felt blocks saturated with resin. To achieve felt that was as thick as possible
(3 inches), the artist and FWM staff worked at a factory in Taunton,
Massachusetts that specializes in the production of traditional 100% wool felt.
Under extreme heat and pressure (235 degrees and 5000 pounds per square inch),
the bronze plates pressed the grain pattern into the felt while curing the resin.
The FWM conducted tests at each phase to procure the desired effects and
results. The final work is a negative image of the original pine floor,
through which Whiteread has rendered the invisible visible and summoned presence
from absence.
Above: Rachel Whiteread, Untitled (Felt Floor), 1997. Created in
collaboration with The Fabric Workshop and Museum.
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