The Nordic folk learnt how to use and make the most of everything they had, and furthermore accumulated knowledge about the properties and potentials of the individual materials over time. The birch tree is a good example of a material that has played a significant role in human survival in the Nordic countries, and not just as a flexible building material. Its juice can be tapped and drunk in the spring months, and the bark harvested and used to make everything from shoes, clothes and bags to containers and tools. Tar can be extracted from the bark, which can be used for a range of purposes, from dry proofing to the medical treatment of arthritis and psoriasis.

Based on the tradition of exploring and experimenting with a material and finding new ways of using it in other contexts, I have decided to work with discarded embroidered pieces that cost next to nothing in second-hand shops around town. These textiles, which have been produced by hand with such great craftsmanship, have served both a practical and decorative purpose in the home. But there is no longer room for them in the modern home, where “New Nordic is the mantra. They have become a material without value.

Working with revitalizing and re-assigning value to worthless materials has played an informative role in my jewellery-making career and an inspiration source that I return to again and again.
The ice flowers that appear after a night of heavy frost. The juice in plants and other organic materials is pressed out of the fibres and forms florette flower-like growths, making the barren winter garden suddenly resemble a sumptuous baroque garden. A magic and lush jewellery universe emerges from these basal materials. Beauty and elegance can flourish out of the most humble and pure environments.

Photographer Mette Saabye

https://svfk.dk/project/lines-of-latitude-and-longitude

Instagram: @longitudelinesoflatitude