Wisbech, United Kingdom: in her living room in eastern England, Mia Hansson attacked almost six years ago to a major project: reproducing the Bayeux tapestry in real size, huge fresco relatingThe conquest of England by Guillaume the Conqueror.
""""I had nothing to do, I was bored and I needed a project that does not end quickly,"""" explains this 47-year-old Swedish, installed in the United Kingdom for twenty years.
Passionate about embroidery, this former teacher decided in 2016 to embark on a reproduction of the most famous of them: the tapestry of Bayeux, almost millennial masterpiece almost 70 meters long, symbol of relationships longbellicose between England and the continent.
Five and a half years later and three to four hours of embroidery per day, Mia Hansson reached half-January half of the tapestry, which she keeps in rollers for lack of having the place of extending it.She now knows the smallest details, up to errors made by the seamstresses of the time.
""""There, for example, there are four heads of soldiers, but there are only four legs, it's not going,"""" she points out.""""When you look at the original, you don't realize it.""""
Elle reproduit quand même ces """"bizarreries"""", comme elle les appelle. """"Qui suis-je pour changer ce qui a été fait?""""
8,000 meters of wool
The 11th century tapestry ranked memory of the UNESCO world, probably designed in Canterbury (south-east of England) is preserved in a museum in the Norman city of Bayeux, in northwestern France.
Paris and London mentioned a possible loan in the United Kingdom but it is not transportable before a deep restoration, from the fall of 2024 and for minimum 18 months.
Au départ, Mia Hansson n'est """"pas très intéressée par l'histoire (de la tapisserie)"""", mais elle apprend en brodant et est désormais intarissable sur les péripéties des 626 personnages représentés sur la fresque.
""""On the tapestry, we have everything. Des oiseaux et des dragons, des chameaux, des chevaux, des navires, des monuments, rien n'est jamais pareil"""", explique-t-elle avec enthousiasme.
To reproduce linen woolen embroidery, Mia Hansson uses threads of seven different colors. """"Si j'ai bien calculé, je vais avoir besoin de 8 000 mètres au total"""", estime-t-elle.
She gives herself five more years to hope to finish her project on July 13, 2027, 11 years to day after having started it.
""""De ce que je sais, je suis la première à le faire en Europe"""", précise-t-elle, ayant connaissance d'un Canadien qui a déjà réalisé, en 10 ans, une réplique similaire.
If Mia Hansson does not embroider after the record, she is already thinking about the future of her reproduction. """"J'imagine que je pourrai la vendre.If someone makes me an offer that I cannot refuse, it suits me.""""
