Artist in Residence at the Textile Centre Haslach
Report by Leonie Burkhardt
18.02. – 01.03.2024

The Textile Center Haslach is a unique place that allowed me to work on an industrial Jacquard loom that is not accessible otherwise. For years I have been researching three-dimensional weaving and the possibilities it offers in relation to space. My goal for this residency was to continue to research the technique of 3D weaving in an architectural context and take this residency as an opportunity as a start into my PhD studies in textile design which will start in April 2024.

Before the residency began, I had contacted textile companies and asked for leftover yarns from the textile industry since I wanted to work with waste material. The German company Rohi was kind enough to send me their high-quality, leftover wool yarns to use during my residency. This marked the starting point of my creative journey.

Right at the start of the residency, I got to know the two other residents, Khristina and Katerina. During the whole residency, the three of us exchanged ideas, thoughts, and processes, and we learned from each other and influenced each other's works. I was especially intrigued by Khristina’s huge textile installations and felt very inspired to think in a large scale as well.

During the residency, Christina organized other events such as the Experimentierwekstatt and the mid-way presentation of our residency. She brought together different people and created space to exchange and to have creative cross-overs. I got to know very interesting people from textile and adjacent fields and I look forward to using these contacts for future work.

With the help of Andreas and Elisabeth, I was working in the weaving software program Arachne and was weaving at the Jacquard loom. On the one hand, I wanted to go big in scale and create something that has a spatial effect. On the other hand, I wanted to use leftover material to minimize waste in the textile industry. I ended up designing pillars made of woven textile tubes that have a structured surface. Since I had different amounts of colored leftover yarns, I decided to create gradient effects in these pillars to use up as much waste material as possible.

In the first few days, I created samples and tested out different techniques and colorways. In the final days, I produced three large textile pieces that will be transformed into three colorful textile columns.

The textiles I produced are still on their way to Sweden, my home, but once they are here I am planning an exhibition in Göteborg to present my research and the design work I did at the Textile Center Haslach.

Thanks again for this lovely time, the support, and the opportunity to create freely and creatively.

Contact:
leonieaburkhardt@gmail.com
https://www.leonieburkhardt.com/
https://www.instagram.com/leonie.burkhardt/

Leonie’s participation in the residency was funded by the Swedish Arts Grants Committee and Culture Moves Europe mobility fund.