JOSEFINE HELL

Historical studies, experimentation and large scale sculpting using raw expressive materials underpin the process of Josefine Hell whose handcrafted objects exist between art and design. For Ark Kollekt 01 she is presenting three chairs, Wrath, Envy and Sloth, made of steel rods and paint. Her project takes the seven sins as a starting point turning each one into large scale chairs, a chair for each sin so to speak, and inviting people to take a seat one of them – wrath, hubris or greed for instance. Although they read more as metaphorical seats than actual ones. “Transforming the sins, makes them simple and humble, filled with poetry,” says Josefine adding although the theme originated in the third century it is more alive than ever today.
“The project arose from a wish to create a moment of self-reflection when facing the chairs, and their history. They are a physical presence and realisation of an intangible theme, which normally occurs in books, on our lips and in the daily air between us,“ says Josefine, who made the series as part of her 2022 graduation project for the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. school of design. Josefine’s ongoing practice continues to use salvaged metal materials to explore sculpture as a narrative medium, fusing the limitless concepts and ambitions of abstract approaches with the vivid lucidity of the figurative.