The Maillard reaction is a complex series of chemical reactions between reducing sugars and amino acids. It is a form of enzymatic browning (such as in caramelizing and baking food) The imprint on Turin's shroud would have been caused by the reaction that occurs between gases from a human body and the carbohydrate layer on a linen garment with which the dead body is covered
The installation 'Maillard' by Tamara Dees consists of two parts.
'Maillard (a wrap and another wrap)' and 'Maillard (the pirate)'
Starting points for the installation are transience, temporality and visibility. The fascination for a religious canvas. Not because of the religious significance that is given to it but because of the stories around it. The doubt whether the canvas is also what it is.
The Shroud of Turin (size 436 x 110 cm) could be the same object as the Dress of Edessa, a garment lost in the period when the Shroud appeared for the first time.
There are big doubts about age (Middle Ages?) And even if it is a print of a person.
For 'Maillard (a wrap and another wrap)' Tamara Dees made two prints of the hull of a boat on two pieces of textile, each with the same size as the shroud of Turin.
For relief printing, she used iron oxide, the same dye that caused the impression on the shroud. Because of its specific shape and the visible damage that the boat has gained over the years, the impression, 'the drawing' on the textile, can clearly be traced back to this one boat. The two carpets seem identical at first glance, but are different because they are made by hand and one after the other. There is no original and no copy.
Maillard (the pirate)
For the second part of the installation Tamara Dees has crushed the boat.
As if there is a reflection, a step back towards the origin, the building plan
Parts, lumps, pieces remain that only refer to the original boat.
In the presentation these fragments are stacked on the floor next to the (hanging) carpet or lean against the nearby wall.