“Lend me an ear” is a new series of sculptural textile works. The start of the serie will be shown at the X-mas exhibition at Rogaland Kunstsenter. It will consist of 5 framed, needle-felted ears mounted on linen canvas.

In our increasingly unstable world where we are moving away from our extended family many of us experience loneliness. It is no longer a given to have a confident, someone to share our big moments and griefs with.

With this series, I want to offer a constant listening ear to the viewer.

Our ears are so unique they can identify a person, just like our DNA and fingerprints.

Let me introduce the owners of my ears:

Cliff Lawton, the stepdad of my partner who recently passed away. This man loved his wife Mary completely, but still had more than enough love for all his family. He lived for his family and always put everyone else first. I feel so blessed to have had him in my life for the last 11 years. To me he became the big brother I never had. We talked, we joked and laughed and we cried together. He always made me feel like a part of the family - and he always lend me an ear when I needed.

Link to the online catalogue of the exhibition

Princess Diana.

I grew up in the 80´s and was, like the rest of the western world, swept away by the fairytale of Prince Charles and princess Diana. the magazines and newspapers never stopped documenting the poor woman´s life. as a kid I looked at her as cinderella in the flesh, but as a grown woman, I have so much respect and admiration for the strength she must have possessed. She managed to spread empathy and love throughout the world, raise two boys and break free from the “crown” - and stay true to herself.

my second ear, and I believe it is a good one,

Link to the online catalogue of the exhibition

mahatma gandhi

a peaceful, yet forceful man. A man who marched for. 24 days to protest against the British salt monopoly in India. He led many non-violent protests throughout his life.

Spinning on the charkha, making cotton thread, to liberate India, is one of them. The thread was used to make handwoven fabrics, such as khadi. Khadi, a symbol of India’s independence, made locally in villages with the locally grown cotton. without the need of western machines.

Gandhi, who wouldn’t lend his ear?

the man from snåsa

throughout my life there’s been talk about this mysterious man from snåsa that heals people, Every now and then there where pieces about him in magazines and newspapers. my grandmother on my fathers side lived in Trøndelag, and even she talked about him and his endeavours.

he spent his life using his mind and body as a “medium” for higher forces to heal through him. I wonder what it cost him to remove the pain of all these people? Sadly he died this summer and I will never get an answer.

with this ear, I would ask you to fill it with kind and uplifting words, as a thank you for his selfless, lifelong service to others.

Neo

ear number five is what I believe is my subconscious start of the project. it just took me a while to realize.

my grandson, neo, now nine months, is born almost without the sense of hearing. he can just about hear some sounds when they are really loud. the loss of the hearing makes him even more interested in eye-contact and faces and he gives you his full attention. it sometimes feels like he is staring deep into your soul, trying to listen, not to your words, but to your heart.

in January he will have an operation that will give him the possibility to understand sound. an operation for a Cochlear implant (CI). for this procedure they remove the last of his natural hearing.

this is the ear of neo,, made two months before the operation.