Carpet Bombs
Tuesday, May 13th, 2008
The current Afghan war rug exhibit at the Textile Museum of Canada is astonishing. I had of course heard about war rugs when I was in Afghanistan, and seen some crude examples along Chicken Street (which, in better days, used to be the main tourist shopping boulevard), but it wasn’t until I spoke with curator Max Allen that I understand how thoroughly this newfangled form of rug weaving dovetails with my work on pop culture in the region. In some recent pieces, the war rugs have taken on the appearance of a television news broadcast, complete with ticker running under the “screen.” They’re a fascinating and heartbreaking example of how artisans practicing an ancient craft have dealt with over thirty years of consistent war and deprivation. I covered the exhibit for CBC; don’t miss it,

