Contemporary weaver Christopher Duncan is enamored with old flatweave rugs—their robustness, their thickness, but most of all, in the innumerable details and quirks of the weaving process. Fluctuations in warp tension, misaligned and meandering lines, and patterns that are slightly askew articulate the language of a weaving. This language is particular to the hand, eye and mind of the maker and the circumstances of the rug’s creation. These details fascinate Duncan. They contribute to the story a rug tells and add to its sense of mystery and wonder. 

More than Castles is a selection from a recent body of flat-weave rugs made by Duncan in his studio in Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland and exhibited at The National in Ōtautahi Christchurch in October 2021.

Duncan is known for making a feature of imbalance and uncertainty in his weaving practice, primarily by the inventive ways he adds texture to the warp of a piece by marrying together unlikely combinations of yarns. The unexpected flourishes in his process, resulting in a body of flatweave rugs abundant with nuance and personality. 

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Christopher Duncan is a contemporary craft practitioner who specialises in hand weaving textiles. Duncan began weaving in 2012 after a career in the fashion industry and began teaching himself through gifted looms and materials eventually creating his own library of weaving apparatus, knowledge, style and technique. His practice moves between the making of textile for use in clothing and as object – challenging the idea of artisanal works as everyday useful objects

In 2014, Duncan opened TÜR with Joseph Yen at 486 Karangahape Road in Tāmaki Makaurau.

His work has been exhibited throughout Aotearoa, Japan, Belgium and the United States of America, and is held in the collection of Auckland Museum Tāmaki Paenga Hira.