Gernika Carpet and the Burning of Two Basque Cities

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Gernika on the 26th of April, 1937, the San Telmo Museum, in collaboration with the San Sebastian rug store, Nómada, displayed the carpet, “Gernika”, designed by the Basque sculptor, Koldobika Jauregi.

To commemorate the 200th anniversary of the burning of Donostia-San Sebastian on the 31 August, 1813, and the 75th anniversary of the bombing of Gernika on the 26 April, 1937, the San Telmo Museum, in collaboration with the San Sebastian rug store, Nómada, displayed the carpet Gernika designed by the Basque sculptor, Koldobika Jauregi. The carpet was displayed from the 27 August to the 8 September, 2013.

The Gernika carpet pays tribute to the more than 1,600 mainly civilian victims of the Gernika bombing and was displayed together with the documentary video Zirriborroa-Boceto-Sketch, which shows Koldobika Jauregi designing the series of over 100 preliminary sketches that led up to the final carpet design. In the video the artist explains the overall composition, the symbolism behind the forms, the relationship to historical photographs of the bombing, and also references to other artworks, including those by Picasso and Goya.

The video also shows the carpet being woven in Nepal. The carpet took five weavers approximately nine months to weave and was woven in landscape format to reflect the light evenly when hung. Measuring 773 x 353cm, the monumental piece has the same dimensions as the famous painting Guernica by Picasso and weighs about 150kg.

Another highlight of the exhibition was a two-day workshop with the artist. This was a collective weaving activity, loosely based on sketches around the theme of the burning of San Sebastian. Hundreds of people from all ages, backgrounds, and nationalities, wove three tapestries with linen, jute, and recycled cotton. Each person had the freedom to add any colour or type of material that they wished and they could also add knotted ribbons with their own personalised messages of hope.

Koldobika Jauregi with his Gernika carpet