In January of 2020, Swedish textile artist Sofia Hagström Møller traveled to Madison, Wisconsin for a Weaving Lab residency. She was excited to work with the TC2 digital loom on campus. She also brought with her cloth that had been hand-woven by her grandmother as inspiration. When she discovered examples of similarly patterned cloth in the Helen Louise Allen Textile Collection, she realized the project’s full potential to explore cultural translations and overlaps.
This exhibition of Sofia Hagström Møller’s work interweaves narratives of inspiration and iteration, function and symbolism, as well as the past, present, and future. Through the work selected, Hagström Møller investigates the roots of Scandinavian textile design and celebrates the legacy that American weaving shares with these traditions. By translating her grandmother’s patterns through the digital technology available to her here at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Hagström Møller’s work transcends language and travels through time and space.
The work she created during her visit to Madison is on view in conversation with supporting pieces from Hagström Møller’s ongoing practice. Along with a series of weavings created by Scandinavian textile artists for Marianne Fairbank’s project, Hello Loom, this installation marks the generative, creative dialogue happening between America and Scandinavia.
This exhibition was curated and mounted by Nora Renick Rinehart with support from Sarah Anne Carter, CDMC Director; Marianne Fairbanks, Associate Professor; Carolyn Jenkinson, Collections Manager; Adriana Barrios, Engagement Manager; Laura Sims Peck, Operation Manager; and Rosco Ford, Preparator. Graphic Design by Hannah Jablonski and Charlotte Easterling.
Lineage was held in the Lynn Mecklenburg Textiles Gallery at the Center for Design and Material Culture from January 26-April 3, 2o22.
