Editor’s thoughts

Drawing inspiration from ancient knowledge on nature and crafts, passed down orally through generations, Julie Lænkholm revitalizes a female-driven history that has faded into obscurity or actively been disregarded. Through her craft, she brings to life forgotten narratives, weaving them into tactile and three-dimensional art pieces. Lænkholm transforms materials like wool, silk, and denim, infusing them with natural, plant-based dyes using historic techniques that hold deep significance and intentionality.

Most of your works represent nature, flowers, and plants. When did this interest and sensibility for plants start?

Julie Lænkholm: I learned how to dye with local plants in northern Iceland (where my family comes from) from a woman named Kristlaug Palsdottir. During that time, I conducted research in the local museum’s archive for a show centered around my family’s ancestral lines. Given my interest in healing, crafts, and collective learning, I met many local women who shared their knowledge about the region’s native flora and fauna. This journey of exploration extended to various locations, leading me to pursue a four-year herbal medicine program with a focus on Nordic plants. Continuously learning and unlearning, I’ve come to understand our collective and individual connection with nature, particularly our disconnection from it. The unfortunate consequence is our failure to recognize and appreciate the natural world that surrounds us. Similar to other aspects of life and our inner landscape, this disconnection makes it increasingly difficult for us to protect and assume responsibility for something we fail to see and, more importantly, fail to understand that we are an integral part of.
Through my work, I have found solace in honoring the various narratives interwoven within materials and learning processes. It provides me with the opportunity to establish an intimate connection with these materials.

There is respect and delicacy in all of your works. Wool seems to be carefully applied over silk and everything seems to communicate a certain peace and calmness. Do the materials and compositions come together naturally, or is your process more structured and planned?

Julie Lænkholm: I have ways of choosing and asking plants for permission, seeking support from the stars, and demonstrating respect for the communities with whom I’ve exchanged knowledge on the use of plants that are not native to my home country. It is important for me to acknowledge the historical context of the land where I work and to establish a deep connection with it through my body. What is my ancestral history in that land, and how can I work there while honoring and nurturing its history and future? In this complex landscape, I step back and allow the work to unfold naturally. I feel like I am co-creating the work together with the land, materials, and ancestral wisdom.

What inspires Julie Laenkholm?

Julie Lænkholm: Authenticity in people’s voices, connection with nature, glimpses of something magical in a mundane every day, like being touched by the warm ray of the sunlight, sunset, birds flying over the sky, salty smell of the ocean, simple stuff. Having an intention before forming the material. Lately, I have become intrigued by research on how our breath connects us to our surroundings. A quote by the late Danish quantum physicist Tor Nørretranders resonates deeply with me: ‘When you take a breath, you touch a part of the planet, with the inside of your body.’
One constant source of inspiration for me has been women and the collective knowledge we have developed through generations. Our ancestral lines reflect a beautiful tradition of gathering together, enjoying one another’s company, and supporting each other. Crafts like knitting, weaving, sewing, plant dyeing, and creating herbal remedies were often practiced during these communal gatherings.

There is a deep spiritual connection between humans and nature in your work. What’s the role of nature in your creative practice and life?

Julie Lænkholm: Spirituality has always been a deeply integrated part of my life and the way my works unfold. I always say that I don’t feel I make the work myself but I moreso feel like the work comes through me. For some reason, as a collective, we seem to have forgotten that we are an inseparable part of nature, and this disconnection is evident in the challenges we face as a society.
Here in Denmark, there is a growing inability to recognize and appreciate the local nature, including the most potent plants. Personally, I believe that nothing can surpass the inherent beauty of Mother Earth. Through spirituality, we can develop an awareness of how our collective existence is intricately linked with nature. We are interconnected with the Earth, air, oceans, spirits, animals, microorganisms, and more, forming a unified whole.

Julie Lænkholm resides and works in Copenhagen, Denmark. She completed her studies at Parsons, The New School of Design in New York. Lænkholm has held solo exhibitions at various venues, including Matsushima Bunko Museum (Matsushima), Tranen Space for Contemporary Art (Hellerup), Húsavík Museum (Húsavík), and Politikens Forhal (Copenhagen). In 2022, she also showcased a solo exhibition at the Textile Arts Center in New York.

Interview with Julie Lænkholm by Rita Trindade | Images courtesy of the artist.