plant pigment palette

solo exhibition
march 30 – may 7 2023
norwegian house
at sophienholm

artist in residence
aug 2022 – may 2023

through dyeing wool and silk, the pigments are transformed into a palette of works, hand-stitched using the patchwork technique.

tina ratzer was awarded norske hus as a place of work for an eight-month residency, following an application motivated by a wish to work in the midst of nature – with park and forest as studio, and with indoors and outdoors given equal weight. the house had no heating or running water; water was collected from the lake. the residency began with a study of extracting plant dyes for ink and developed into investigations of plants’ properties as sources for both ink and textile dyeing.

the work unfolded as a long, meditative process, in which gathering, boiling, dyeing, recording, and sewing took place within a continuous rhythm. the project concluded with a solo exhibition.

connected
to
the flora
I gather
nature’s pigments
odour & couleur
that ignite me
I sense
I balance
I repeat
my hands
a form
of rhythm