The rugs of war

The Rugs of War exhibition is surprisingly unsettling, though it’s hard to say why. Rugs, woven by Afghan refugees and natives, embody a history of astonishing violence. But far from being real, this violence is stylised and symbolic. It hangs on the walls, two-dimensional Kalashnikovs and Blackhawks trickling through the colour wheel like rain. And yet, when you look at these images something extends into you. The rugs, though rooted to the material, transcend it, and gazing into them feels perilous. There is something sensitive here, and for the Westerner, a distinct feeling that – somehow – the rugs are looking back.