Others Will Know

Artist Miriam Bäckström has used a ground-breaking Kvadrat Acoustics solution to tension and stage a specially commissioned woven tapestry artwork. Entitled Others Will Know, the expansive piece runs along the curved walls of the lobby at the Buffalo’s AKG Art Museum in upstate New York where it greets visitors and optimises acoustic quality.

Others Will Know transforms a photograph of a small swatch of textile into an expansive tapestry. Stretched across 11 Soft Cells Broadline panels which are shaped in diverse geometries, the tapestry has a total length of 36.5 m. To achieve a flawlessly smooth integration with the complex, curved architecture, the Kvadrat Acoustics team used a form-finding algorithm to calculate the panels’ precise curvatures. At the same time, in close collaboration with OMA and Studio Miriam Bäckström, Kvadrat Acoustics enhanced the panel performance to ensure perfect image alignment.

To meet the unique angles and intersections of the space, the team developed an innovative installation system based on custom corner brackets with non-orthogonal corners. Furthermore, multiple practice runs, and test alignments were conducted before installation while the frames were shipped as a modular kit to ensure optimal adaptability.

Miriam Bäckström: "The concept is that when entering the museum, you also enter a sculpture, giving the illusion that it is larger than the museum itself. You enter another room than expected, and that is what the acoustic experience supports as well. It was a pleasure to work with such a professional team at Kvadrat Acoustics to create a piece of such high quality. I experienced a true collaboration between us.”

To create Others Will Know, Miriam Bäckström initially used 3D technology and virtual reality to transform the textile swatch into a photographic curvilinear sculpture. Thereafter, she worked with skilled weavers at TextielLab Tilburg, in the Netherlands, and the Kvadrat Acoustics team to translate her image world into a magnificently coloured, seemingly infinite wall-mounted tapestry that pushes the limits of photography.