a selection of artistic projects | CHARLOTTE ØSTERGAARD

On this page you will find a selection of images of my independent artistic projects. Textile objects and costumes, which has been exhibited nationally and internationally.

Entanglements

Exhibited at Material Thinking, 1st International Contemporary Material Art Biennale, Tsinghua University, China, 2022.

Entanglements is an artwork in the borderland between textile object, spatial entity, and wearable art. The artwork can be perceived as an exhibition object or as a ‘wearable scenography’ with a performative human-and-more-than-human material-spatial potential.

Entanglements build on Donna Haraway’s notion of ‘making kin’ (Staying with the Trouble – Making Kin in the Chthulucene, 2017) and Jane Bennet’s new materialism concepts (Vibrant matter – a political ecology of thing, 2010). Bennett advocates ‘to experience the relationship between persons and other materialities more horizontally, is to take a step towards a more ecological sensibility’ (Bennett:2010, p. 10). Bennett suggests that there is an ‘ethical task […] to cultivate the ability to discern nonhuman vitality’ (Ibid, p. 14) by ‘affecting and being affected by other bodies’ (Ibid, p. 21). Bennett’s vibrant matter is an ethics call to distribute agency to more-than-human materialities. Hence, I suggest that Haraway’s ‘making kin’ is material-relational-sensible craft practice – that build on a willingness to affect and be affected by human and more-than-human bodies or materialities.

As artist, I can craft textiles to subordinate a predetermined design which indicates that I position myself hierarchal above the material – or – I can acknowledge that ‘making kin’ is a more ecological craft strategy calls for my sensibility towards materialities (and therefore cannot build on a predetermined design). ‘Making kin’ suggests a dynamic tension between me (hands, body, and mind) and the vibrant textile materialities. In the dynamic tension I, as artist, must listen to the complexity of the materialities – I must listen to their ‘voices’ and ‘will’ and be open towards e.g., how the materialities including their colors wants to be combined and composed.

ComPleat – textile objects inviting audience to bodily engage.

Exhibited at Is this color? in Rundetårn, Copenhagen, DK, 2019

As concept ComPleat is a (non-)living matter between being and not being. ComPleat is a tissue; as a representation being in between living and dead – a metamorphosis for a transformation process, being in between past, present and future. The ComPleat tissue has a possibility to transform or revealed itself in several ways; as a trophy, as a representation of its former owner or as a second skin for the human body.

ComPleat invites the public to interact with the objects – touch, enter and twist it. Interacting with the objects one can ask: What colour is (your) skin – pale or the colorful?

Exhibited at The 12th International Biennial of Contemporary Textile Art Scythia in Ukraine, 2018

AreAre

Exhibited at The Biennale for Craft and Design, Nordatlantens Brygge, Copenhagen,DK, 2019

more information about this project HERE

Flesh#1, Flesh#2, Flesh#3 – reflections on body

Exhibited at From Lausanne To Beijing – 10th International Fiber Art Biennale in China, 2018

WaWe

Exhibited at World of Threads Festival – International Contemporary Fibre Art in Canada, 2018

Photo: Thomas cato

Pleat object

Det første møde, Korttidssalon, DK., 2018

ÆT

Exhibited at World of Threads Festival – International Contemporary Fibre Art in Canada, 2018

The PleatFarm

Exhibited at Takkeloftet, Operahuset, Copenhagen, DK, 2017

information on this project HERE

Body Symphony

Exhibited at From Lausanne To Beijing – 9th International Fiber Art Biennale in China, 2016

World of Threads Festival – International Contemporary Fibre Art in Canada, 2016

Inside Out – part two

Exhibited at Wearable Expressions International Juried Exhibition of Wearable Art in USA, 2017

Inside Out – part one

Exhibited at Critical Costume, Aalto University, Helsinki, Finland, 2015

The making of the costumes for Black Diamond

The Kennedy Center, Washington DC, USA, 2016

Charlotte Østergaard Copenhagen – uniqe pleated dress

In 2013 Danish Design Museum choose this dress the CØC collection to be represented for the posterity as part of the museums collection.

Unfolding a Trace – SPOR

Exhibited at Grønbæksgaard, 2008 and Kunsthal Aarhus, 2005

Spind – a spind of thread

Exhibited ‘TID TIL – tekstilkunst’, Rundetårn, DK, 2006

Rankefod – a three-dimensional textile stage backdrop

In 2005 I created a 10 meters long and 6 meters high tree-dimensional stage backdrop for the performance X-Act/Kitt Johnson’s solo performance ‘Rankefod’. The visual expression created both an intimate space and a landscape. Moreover, in lightning the landscape is transformed. Every part of the backdrop was hand pleated or in other ways added structure. The backdrop was created at a residency at The Danish Art Workshops. More information HERE