this was quite an unintentional discovery… during one of my web searches for some bear porn, i came instead across the magic carpet ride of debbie lawson whose persian carpet creations explore an interesting array of naturalistic and domestic installations; alternating the familiar with the manipulation of persian carpets. no stranger to traditional crafts, her work also include wood panels or linoleum with pictorial inlays, it reinforces the artist’s speculation with mediums and confirms the collective connection to a traditional craft heritage. her latest works are more sculptural and the recognisable objects which take shape from the patterned carpets are rendered more elusive and merge seamlessly with their new skins hence imbuing them with a new mysterious quality. far from subversive the subtext of hidden shapes and meaning in a ‘swept under the rug’ kinda way is cleverly revealing and especially the details of works like ‘oasis’ and ‘secret garden’, where an entire landscape springs forth, is carefully executed to appear unexpectedly from the patterned rug. a desperate cry for the domesticated to become adventurous and foreign again. poignantly, as part of the persian carpet’s historically narrative element; the work entitled ‘tsunami’, though more cryptic and featuring pieces of carpet flying from a colliding wave, conveys its message with that same mystical quality that these carpets always invoke in us. not quite the thrill i might have been looking for, but a rewarding one nonetheless.