A Monumental 353-Foot-Long Embroidered Artwork by Eva Jospin Goes on View at Versailles

The architecture of the setting brings another aspect of the experience for the viewer as well. “It works really like a panorama, where you wander through the threads and the dots and the stitches,” explains Jospin. “You always have this sensation of trying to figure out the larger scale, which is impossible to view all at once because it’s so long.”

Chambre de Soie, a title which references Virginia Woolf’s long-form essay A Room of One’s Own, was previously presented as the artistic backdrop of the Dior Fall-Winter 2021-2022 haute couture show on the invitation of designer Maria Grazia Chiuri, who is a major supporter of female artists through remarkable collaborations such as this. The work has been added to for this special exhibition, which is made possible thanks to the patronage of Christian Dior parfums. Jospin found inspiration for the addition to the work in the Versailles gardens, particularly Apollo’s Bath Groves, which was redesigned by landscape gardener and painter Hubert Robert in the late 19^th century. That enticing vista is joined with the previous work’s delightful assemblage, which Jospin looked to the Embroidery Room of the Palazzo Colonna in Rome.

Although the embroidery work was all done in Mumbai, Jospin is heavily involved in the process throughout. She begins with a drawing then worked with the embroiderers to pinpoint the correct threads—both color and texture—to create the desired results. From there, it was months of Zoom meetings, Whats App chats, trips to India, and samples sent between India and her Paris to studio to carefully oversee the work as it came into being. It’s all a result of a global creative collaborative exchange that began in 2021 thanks to Dior’s creative director Maria Grazia Chiuri.

Jospin also worked with the Chanakya School embroiderers on a special trunk for a limited edition of Miss Dior perfume, which captures the spirit of the work at Versailles on a much smaller scale. The bottle is topped by an embroidered bow and features a special case with Jospin’s drawing.

Chambre de Soie is on view at the Orangerie at Versailles through September 29.