KLAAIKLÚT

KLAAIKLÚT is a study of the landscape in which I grew up, the North of Friesland. With this project I want to raise awareness about the value of local materials and the possibilities they give us, with a focus on natural textile dyeing.
I want to communicate my connection with the landscape to the viewer and encourage a new way of connecting with and looking at the landscapes we live in.
With a focus on natural dyeing, I started to explore the undervalued and everyday landscape of my hometown. During these field trips, I came across the material silt and started a research about how to dye textiles with local silt, mud and clay. A material you find almost everywhere but it’s existence is often forgotten.
During this project my relationship and connection with the landscape has changed due to slow processes, standing still and becoming aware of my surroundings. For months I was working with the same simple lump of clay but I still discovered new outcomes, colours and textures over and over again. This connection with the landscape is what I want to communicate to the viewer.
I want to slow down our way of looking at our environment and get rid of our attentionless ways of connecting and communicating with the landscapes in which we live. With this project I want to bring people into my world, a world with a more attentive outlook, and show them the possibilities of what you can do with the materials that are already there but are often overlooked. There are so many forgotten and underestimated materials in our own environment and landscape, which you will only discover if you slow down and pay attention to your surroundings.