Blanket Of Mould | mixed media drawing | techniques: photo print paper cutting & drawing | materials: paper cut, pen & paint on paper | size: 30 x 30 cm | production date: January 2010
“Covering oneself with a blanket of mould to evoke transformation”
And there a journey of conscious transformation started, with a blanket of mould. Mould reminding us that where one thing ends, another is being born. That all we see is transience, in transformation. In 2002 I took a picture of some milk gone mouldy in a glass and turned the inspiration into a jacquard woven blanket in 2007. Then in 2010 I made the mixed media drawing (see above) and from there (a) Leftover Universe was born.
detail of Blanket Of Mould | Jacquard woven blanket/Warntu | techniques: jacquard weaving, sewing & machine embroidery | materials: mohair wool, cotton, viscose & acrylics | Size: 150 x 160 cm | production date: 2007
detail of Blanket Of Mould | Jacquard woven blanket/Warntu | techniques: jacquard weaving, sewing & machine embroidery | materials: mohair wool, cotton, viscose & acrylics | Size: 150 x 160 cm | production date: 2007
A bunch of other ‘mouldy’ works came into being such as a design for a logo, fashion and interior accessories, ceramics, a painting and a mixed media installation.
Left: The Beginning – A digital enhanced photo made in 2012 of the milk gone mouldy in the glass. Traces of this logo design are still visible in the Leftover Universe logo now.
Right: It Is A Pancake Universe – Tuft embroidery on old tea towel made in 2013. Merino wool on cotton. Cushion cover.
Mould In My Hand | handmade button | techniques: tuft embroidery & button making | materials: merino wool, linen & metal | size: 7,5 x 7,5 x 1,5 cm | production date: 2013
I've been using mould depictions in my work as a metaphor for transformation, for the flow of transience. In the photograph above I'm holding Mould In My Hand, I can transform things with my hands.
In The Blink Of An Eye | mixed media ceramics – jar | techniques: pottery & textile art; tuft embroidery & button making | materials: glazed stoneware with woollen tuft embroidered lid | size: 8 cm x 11 cm x 11 cm | production date: August 2014
Help Me Drying? | handmade cushion – interior accessory | techniques: tuft embroidery, rope making, embroidery, up-cycling & sewing | materials: merino wool, discarded leftover cotton towel, acrylic yarn, cotton thread & corn fibre filling | size: 45 x 30 x 15 cm | production date: 2013
“Our tea towel waitinghanging there for you to help me dryinggone all mouldy now shaped a pillow for me to rest my head on“
This cushion was inspired by one of my own life events and the song “Could that be you?”by Room Eleven.
photo of mouldy bread
Going To The Mountain | mixed media installation | techniques & materials: found object (half of a dried mouldy lemon) & painting on paper | size: 20 x 20 x 7 cm | production date: 2013
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
Leftover Universe 