Diana van der Harst

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Steel ‘n Stone

Steel ‘n Stone | Jacquard woven blanket/Warntu with embroidered border | materials: mohair wool, cotton, acrylic, lurex | queen size | production date: 2009

This Warntu (‘Warntu’ is an Australian Aboriginal word for ‘blanket’ or ‘skin’) was inspired by a photo I took of a concrete base of a steel bridge. Water had leaked from the steel onto the concrete base and stained it with beautiful colours. I translated the image left behind into this blanket ‘Steel ‘n Stone’.

Not only is the title ‘Steel ‘n Stone’ literally referring to the elements, it also contains an emotional layer addressing the fact that we are living in a world of ‘Steel ‘n Stone’. This is depicted in a set of drawings and an installation I made in 2010.

On the left: Steel ‘n Stone | mixed media drawing | materials: photo printed paper cut & paint on paper | size: 40 x 40 cm | production date: January 2010 | On the right: These Burning Arms Of Mine | mixed media drawing | materials: pen & paint on paper | size: 40 x 40 cm | production date: January 2010
Steel 'n Stone
Steel ‘n Stone | Installation | materials: jacquard woven blanket/Warntu, black wig on mannequin | size: life size | production date: January 2010

A few months later that year in 2010 I finished hand knitting this jumper called These Burning Arms Of Mine.

These Burning Arms Of Mine | hand knitted jumper | materials: wool & acrylic | size: Medium | production date: 2010
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Diana van der Harst

Diana van der Harst is a multidisciplinary artist whose journey has resulted in the creation of an ever evolving Leftover Universe where Tender Time Sighs. While she has a focus on textile art, she also uses painting, drawing, ceramics, sculpture, photography and writing to seek and tell her story. Her creations originate from a meeting between inner and outer travels, from studying things up-close to things far away, from observing the small to observing the vast; a process of constantly shifting focus, a movement much like breathing. Tender Time Sighs; breathing life into a Leftover Universe, showing us traces of transformation and encounters with animate and inanimate beings. Drawing from her own experiences, inspired by life itself, characters have developed who share their meetings and findings along the way. Diana’s work is poetic, contemporary, intuitive, contemplative, intimate, emotional, whimsical, spiritual, narrative and embodies a magical realism. Diana was born and raised in The Netherlands before she moved to Australia. It is in The Netherlands where Diana had her main art education and where she started exhibiting her works back in 2004. During a masterclass in textile design in The Netherlands in 2007 she was invited to exhibit her art in Tokyo, Japan. Since that exhibition she had 4 solo exhibitions and several work periods in Kyoto, Japan. Exhibiting for nearly 20 years now she showed her works in The Netherlands, Antwerp/Belgium, Melbourne, Perth, Tokyo and Kyoto/Japan. Diana is now focusing on her upcoming solo exhibition, during which she will be giving workshops as well as undertake an artist-in-residency. She is one of the participating artists in her community that opens up her home studio for the public to come and visit, an initiative that is held two weekends a year as part of an Art Trail. Several other projects are in development and she is open for commissions. Email: leftoveruniverse@gmail.com | Website: http://www.leftoveruniverse.com | Instagram: dhyana_in_a_leftover_universe

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