CREATING AN ARTISTIC WOOL RUG WITH A DOUBLE IMAGE IN THE VISUAL AND NEAR-INFRARED SPECTRA

Years of research (since 2014) of the properties of colour twins based on InfraredArt theory the recording in the visible (V) and near-infrared (NIR) spectra, allowed the image to be depicted in two spectral ranges. Continued work in the field of InfraredArt painting led to the idea in 2022 of applying this artistic method to creating an artistic wool rug with a double (dual) image. This was made possible through collaboration with designers and technologists at the company reGalerija in Zabok. After numerous attempts, black pigments were found that allowed a hidden image to be created in the rug or tapestry in the NIR range. This discovery revealed the possibilities of light absorption response in wool material and in the NIR spectrum, as is visible in the IR reflectography (IRR) images. The colour pigment research, conducted using the InfraredArt method, resulted in the discovery of a new method of making rugs with double images that respected the colours/dyes/pigments in NIR. This type of rug with a hidden image in the IR range, made based on a double IR image template, is unique and the first such known work in the world. It hides a riddle or secret, or hidden information in the strands of wool, because apart from the abstract image, visible to the naked eye, it also contains an invisible, achromatic woven image with a figurative motif in the same layer.