A MIRAGE Dialogue with Sculptor Hanne Friis: Art, Craftsmanship, and Reality

Will you tell us about your creative process? How did you approach the task for this year’s awards? ‍

I have created small handmade pieces before and enjoy the connection between the size of the sculpture and the human hand. To hold the sculpture in your hands is quite intimate, like holding a small gift. An abstract ornament whose folds you can find in nature and in the human body. A mix of nature and artifice. It is a good size with a bit of weight to it. The key element here is the process itself. I make many choices in how to shape the piece, using years-long techniques, to find the perfect movement in the folds. I cannot control every aspect, but I must work with it. I work with fabrics like I would work other sculptural material, as if it was clay. It is unlike casting a sculpture. When the sculpture is cast, it is finished. But with fabrics, it is a piece that can evolve, that can still grow or even collapse. It exists in a state of change. My sculptures convey a sense that there is an ongoing process still going on.

Will you tell us about the materials you chose and why you selected them?

The fabric is dyed from oak leaves and has a metallic, gold-like appearance. Its soft sheen is especially fitting for an award.

For years, I have worked with natural dyes and coloured my materials from plants. With my hands and needle as tools, I shape the material into folds, spiral movements which start to reflect structures in nature, like tree bark, corals or mushrooms. Quite often, I take photos of my hand with the fabric. Since all is done by hand, each gesture is deeply connected to the sensuous and sensual nature of the materials.

Materiality plays a significant role in my work. I like to play with the material’s appearance and ambiguous nature. You may not understand the material when you first see it. From a distance, the awards seem crafted from a stable metallic material or exclusive fabric but consist of simple ones– cotton, viscose, and nylon thread. I find this an intriguing uncertainty between what you see and what you perceive, between reality and imagination.

‍What is the message you wish to communicate through these awards?‍

First, it is an honour to make these awards. I want them to be beautiful–an object you want to touch, almost like skin. Each award is the same size yet unique since they are not cast and are all handmade. It took time to create, and I think that art takes time. To work with art, it is very much about time and presence. I think that's something nice to give. It’s a value. The award recipients have put a lot of energy and time in their work, by giving them a handmade and unique sculpture, I show them respect.

Were you inspired by reality?

I’m always inspired by reality, what surrounds me and what I hold in my hands. I feel a deep connection to nature and the interconnectedness of nature and the human body. We as humans see ourselves reflected in nature and recognize our own processes in its forces. When you see (or feel) the structures in nature, it can look like something from inside your body, and it draws you closer. We are all part of this process, a larger cycle where one day we will die and new life will begin. The processes in nature and the processes inside of us are the reality that inspires me. Also, life’s beauty and brutality affect me deeply. In society, too. The dualities of human existence—the beauty and the hideous – hold a significant place in my work. Being a human being in this world, there is much beauty and, on the other, much brutality. As they observe and contemplate my work, many people see and describe this ambiguity between the beautiful and hideous, the dualities of life.

How do you see your craft connect to the craft of cinema?

I am not involved in the world of film, so I would not know how filmmakers think in general, it depends on the artist. Each artist has a different perspective and way of thinking. Being an artist, whether it's music, filmmaking, literature, theatre or visual art is being sensitive to the world, to what you see and to what you experience and in that sense I feel connected to many artists in many art forms. There are many crossing lines. I have a focus on tactility, materiality, and colour as a language. I want to explain something without words by my senses in an abstract way. It’s trying to find a language, another kind of language. I´m in a constant artistic process, it´s a lot of work, but not only a work, it´s a life. As a human being you are influenced by the world around you, from politics to your personal life and history. Artist are sensitive people, that’s why they are artists and I guess that’s we have in common.

What challenges did you face?

When I work with this technique, there are moments when I have to start over. I take the scissors and cut the strings, unravel the folds because the shape is not good enough. I always try to find a good shape, to create something interesting. When I don’t achieve this, I unfold then refold again.

Even though it’s a small object, it does not mean that it takes a short time to do it. I had to use the scissors today because it was not right.

‍

I have a question about craftsmanship. In our day and age, why is it still important? There are machines and AI, right? What is the value of craftsmanship and why do we need it?

It’s a human experience. That’s what I like about it. It’s not possible to create these sculptures by a machine. Of course, I could make a similar technique with a machine, but it would miss the human variations. That’s what is unique. In the hand-stitched repetitions, there is so much happening in the process that cannot happen with a machine. A machine doesn’t have human energy and temper. I also don’t use assistance because it is not possible for me to teach a person to be in my head or in my hands. Of course, I can teach a technique, but not the choices I make all the time. Craftsmanship is wordless knowledge; it means that you build a deeper knowledge of a craft by working with a certain technique for many years. For me, the knowledge is in my hands, but for another artist it could be to know a certain digital tool so well that’s it´s a part of your body.

Time is something important here, time and experience. The experience and knowledge I have by working with the same practice over years, the repetition of the gesture but with variation. You are always trying to do it better and to take it from another perspective, yet it is still very much about the same thing. Now, I am over 50, and I still find it interesting to work in this field and to investigate materials, shapes, and colours. Of course, I want to push myself to try out new things, to develop my work. Yet still, I think, as it is for many artists, writers, and musicians, that you are writing the same book over and over again. I repeat myself in a way but still I find it interesting. It’s not the same book. From the outside, you can think I do the same sculptures all over again and again, but it’s a different story from another angle. There is a quality in it to repeat yourself.

‍What is the message you wish to communicate through these awards?‍

First, it is an honour to make these awards. I want them to be beautiful–an object you want to touch, almost like skin. Each award is the same size yet unique since they are not cast and are all handmade. It took time to create, and I think that art takes time. To work with art, it is very much about time and presence. I think that's something nice to give. It’s a value. The award recipients have put a lot of energy and time in their work, by giving them a handmade and unique sculpture, I show them respect.

Were you inspired by reality?

I’m always inspired by reality, what surrounds me and what I hold in my hands. I feel a deep connection to nature and the interconnectedness of nature and the human body. We as humans see ourselves reflected in nature and recognize our own processes in its forces. When you see (or feel) the structures in nature, it can look like something from inside your body, and it draws you closer. We are all part of this process, a larger cycle where one day we will die and new life will begin. The processes in nature and the processes inside of us are the reality that inspires me. Also, life’s beauty and brutality affect me deeply. In society, too. The dualities of human existence—the beauty and the hideous – hold a significant place in my work. Being a human being in this world, there is much beauty and, on the other, much brutality. As they observe and contemplate my work, many people see and describe this ambiguity between the beautiful and hideous, the dualities of life.

How do you see your craft connect to the craft of cinema?

I am not involved in the world of film, so I would not know how filmmakers think in general, it depends on the artist. Each artist has a different perspective and way of thinking. Being an artist, whether it's music, filmmaking, literature, theatre or visual art is being sensitive to the world, to what you see and to what you experience and in that sense I feel connected to many artists in many art forms. There are many crossing lines. I have a focus on tactility, materiality, and colour as a language. I want to explain something without words by my senses in an abstract way. It’s trying to find a language, another kind of language. I´m in a constant artistic process, it´s a lot of work, but not only a work, it´s a life. As a human being you are influenced by the world around you, from politics to your personal life and history. Artist are sensitive people, that’s why they are artists and I guess that’s we have in common.

What challenges did you face?

When I work with this technique, there are moments when I have to start over. I take the scissors and cut the strings, unravel the folds because the shape is not good enough. I always try to find a good shape, to create something interesting. When I don’t achieve this, I unfold then refold again.

Even though it’s a small object, it does not mean that it takes a short time to do it. I had to use the scissors today because it was not right.

‍

I have a question about craftsmanship. In our day and age, why is it still important? There are machines and AI, right? What is the value of craftsmanship and why do we need it?

It’s a human experience. That’s what I like about it. It’s not possible to create these sculptures by a machine. Of course, I could make a similar technique with a machine, but it would miss the human variations. That’s what is unique. In the hand-stitched repetitions, there is so much happening in the process that cannot happen with a machine. A machine doesn’t have human energy and temper. I also don’t use assistance because it is not possible for me to teach a person to be in my head or in my hands. Of course, I can teach a technique, but not the choices I make all the time. Craftsmanship is wordless knowledge; it means that you build a deeper knowledge of a craft by working with a certain technique for many years. For me, the knowledge is in my hands, but for another artist it could be to know a certain digital tool so well that’s it´s a part of your body.

Time is something important here, time and experience. The experience and knowledge I have by working with the same practice over years, the repetition of the gesture but with variation. You are always trying to do it better and to take it from another perspective, yet it is still very much about the same thing. Now, I am over 50, and I still find it interesting to work in this field and to investigate materials, shapes, and colours. Of course, I want to push myself to try out new things, to develop my work. Yet still, I think, as it is for many artists, writers, and musicians, that you are writing the same book over and over again. I repeat myself in a way but still I find it interesting. It’s not the same book. From the outside, you can think I do the same sculptures all over again and again, but it’s a different story from another angle. There is a quality in it to repeat yourself.

A MIRAGE Dialogue with Sculptor Hanne Friis: Art, Craftsmanship, and Reality

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