BLUE HAND

I was invited to visit Helle Rude Trolle’s weaving workshop on the fourth floor in a courtyard in central Copenhagen, for a chat about what has happened since we last met and about the exhibition at TIL:VÆRKS.

Since our previous meeting, Helle has acquired this workshop space and now spends much less time teaching at the Royal Danish Academy – Design and more time as a practising textile artist.
She has held several exhibitions and has woven ecclesiastical textiles, including a joint project with Rikke Salto (featured in bookazine no. 10).

The loom is warped with blue wool – coincidentally, the yarn comes from an Italian supplier I used when I was in the fashion business.

Woollen yarn, which is soft and stretchy, is a slightly unusual choice for warp. Helle chose it due to the supplier’s wide colour range. In order to reduce the elasticity of the yarn, she has starched it with skimmed milk, which contains casein.

Casein is best known as a binder in paint. You can read more about it in bookazines 7 and 12.

As weft she uses several different qualities of yarn dyed with indigo. She shows me a sketch of the design – with long hours and a little luck, it will be ready in time for the exhibition opening.

Several other pieces are hanging on the wall: ‘It’s the same weave that you use for broad-ribbed corduroy trousers,’ Helle explains. Some sections have been shorn, so the nap shows, while the remainder is flat. She calls the pieces bellpulls, with reference to the living room theme.

‘We’ll supplement each other in a condensed space, paraphrasing all the things we surround ourselves with in our living rooms. The living room is where we keep our cherished objects, where many of us work, where we gather with family and friends and where we might sit on our own to read a book. For the exhibition, Helle Vibeke has created books, among other things. Visitors are welcome to flip through the books – they’re also welcome to touch my woven pieces.’

‘With the exhibition, we invite both reflection and dialogue, and at least one of us will be present in the gallery every day. We will also be holding events, including a blue calligraphy performance by Watanabe Fugaku (Japan) and a tea tasting with Sing Tehus.’

When we met in 2019, you talked about both indigo and woad.

‘I have put the woad on hold a little bit, I have been dyeing with indigo in a so-called 1-2-3 vat, where you mix indigo, calcium hydroxide and fructose in a ratio of 1:2:3.

This method is a little like working with sourdough; you have to have a sense of when the dye is ready. 

By now I am so well versed in the technique that I can control the resulting colour shade.’

Helle shows me bundles of cotton yarn in a vibrant pale blue. 

Once the exhibition is over, what is on your schedule?

‘I will be attending a week-long course in Bergen, where I will continue to explore the corduroy theme.

My dream would be to develop a textile that can be produced industrially.

As I usually say to my students, if your design can be woven industrially, there is no reason for you to do it by hand. An industrial weaving mill can do a beautiful job much cheaper. You should focus on what industry can’t do.’

And then?
‘I’ll be taking a breather, maybe on [the island of] Samsø where we have a house, and where I have my sample loom. I would also like to gather all my blue pieces for a major exhibition that would revolve around the blue colours of the sky, like my exhibition “ATLAS of the Blue of the Sky” at Bagsværd Church. (The exhibition took place during the Covid-19 pandemic and therefore had very limited hours). I would love to work with a scientist who can help me answer the question, will the sky remain blue regardless of our way of living on earth?’

‘In connection with “ATLAS of the Blue of the Sky”, I took daily photos of the sky. These photos have been combined into a book, which I am also going to exhibit at TIL:VÆRKS.’