Sashimi Love

The Sashimi Love tapestry introduces the work of Enki Bilal, a major figure in European graphic storytelling whose visual language bridges comics, painting, and cinema. Born in 1951 in Belgrade and later active in France, Bilal became widely known through his graphic novels and films, where dystopian narratives unfold through richly textured imagery. His compositions often combine human figures, architectural fragments, and atmospheric color fields that evoke themes of memory, time, and fragile futures.

In Sashimi Love, Bilal’s distinctive visual world takes on a monumental scale. The composition carries the brooding atmosphere characteristic of his work, where muted blues, grays, and shadowed tones establish a somber environment interrupted by sharper accents of color. The imagery suggests figures or forms emerging from a dense, cinematic background, giving the piece the feeling of a moment suspended within a larger narrative. Rather than presenting a traditional scene, Bilal constructs an emotional landscape where gesture, color, and texture communicate mood and tension.

Handwoven in wool by Atelier 3 in Paris, the tapestry translates Bilal’s layered drawing and painting techniques into a tactile woven surface. Through careful use of tonal variation and fine linear weaving, the workshop recreates the atmospheric depth that defines the artist’s work. The wool fibers soften transitions between colors, allowing shadows and highlights to blend gradually across the composition.

At this large scale, the Sashimi Love tapestry transforms Bilal’s visual language into an immersive textile environment. The woven surface amplifies the cinematic quality of the image, inviting the viewer to experience the composition as both a narrative fragment and a powerful contemporary work of tapestry.