In collaboration with Lövendahl, Zakarian created and curated BLACKLANDS:
a group exhibition focusing on the color black.
This interview series continues directing the spotlight at fascinating artists working with the darkest shades.
Shadowy landscapes and obscure music in Dark Pointillism: Simon Garðarsson
29 February 2024
Hyperrealism Gone Wild: Esben Horn
2 May 2024Artist Interview
Emma Marita Westergaard
Botanical Delights made of Black Leather
Interview by Mariam Zakarian, March 2024.
Photos by Kasper Jensen
Interviewet findes også på dansk.
There is an immediate, enigmatic pull when I see the images of Emma Marita Westergaard’s sculptures for the first time. Sharp, black edges against a bright backdrop show fine silhouettes of flowers, branches, trees – so elegant, so graceful and so totally stunning!
Looking closer, you see the sheer amount of care spent on forming every leaf, every petal in impeccable detail, resulting in faithful, life-size reproductions of real plants, even trees.
Then come curiosity and delight: How can leather look like this?
Heated and stretched and cut, the transformation of the tough material into beautiful flowers looks like sorcery even after Westergaard reveals her behind-the-scenes photo documentation. The choice of material is far from fragile plant tissue; black leather is brutal and heavy.
But once manipulated by Westergaard, it turns delicate, light and sensual, and it becomes surprisingly well-suited to capturing the organic shapes of botanical motifs. In fact, the natural appearance of the leather makes these pieces look quite lifelike as the structure and surface texture change in the different parts of the plants, extending an irresistible, tactile invitation to the viewer.
Perhaps my favorite thing about Westergaard’s pieces is that they are not just representations of perfect flowers at their best, in peak bloom, but that we also find trees with curled, dry leaves, and asymmetrical, truly natural-looking compositions.
And of course, they are entirely hand-made.
Westergaard has a Master’s Degree in Fashion Design from the Royal Academy in Denmark and a past career in technical sportswear design. However, she explained that she returned to art for the sake of the physical process, non-commercial drive and experimental nature of the work, as well as the need to “move away from design and the influence of capitalist motivation.”
She pointed out how working with art has been a creatively liberating activity.
Enjoy more of Emma Marita Westergaard’s pieces and learn more about her work in the interview below.
Q: What do you call your chosen medium of expression?
Emma Marita Westergaard: I make botanical sculptures from black leather.
The focal point of my process is to “pull” plants and flowers out of the leather. It is the tactile experience of “taming” the material that motivates me: Push-pull in a dynamic battle and cooperation with the leather.
Q: When and why did you start working with your current technique and materials?
I started experimenting with black leather and boiling water in 2018, as a reaction to losing my artist father to cancer. Getting back into working creatively with my hands and challenging myself through a new material felt like a way to connect to our unique bond.
Q: What does your work process look like?
When I make the leather plants, I prefer to have the real deal in front of me, so I can be as true to detail as possible. I study the shapes, create 2D patterns as I imagine them, without touching the leaves, and test the shrinkage when I boil the leather pieces in water.
Once shrunk and warm, I pull the leaves into shape, working with and against the stiffening process that happens during the drying time. It’s a dynamic process and fairly unpredictable as the leather seems to have a mind of its own.
I work with vegetable-tanned, chrome-free lamb nappa of 0.5-0.7mm.
I keep challenging myself on either complexity or size of a plant.
I think the last piece I created took me at least a month to make.
It’s also a tree, so…
"Black is brutal in the way it absorbs detail
and directs a focused first impression on the silhouette."
- Emma Marita Westergaard
Q: Are there themes in your work that you keep returning to and why?
Black is definitely a theme, as well as tactility, natural materials and leather in particular, and nature of course.
Q: Why do you choose to use black in your work?
Black is brutal in the way it absorbs detail and directs a focused first impression on the silhouette. That in turn offers me the freedom to go all in on detail, without it becoming overwhelming to the final impression.
"My work must be a sensual experience of material, tactility, shape and form."
- Emma Marita Westergaard
Q: Who and/or what are your main influences?
I am addicted to music and fascinated by the complexity and beauty of nature.
Anything that can trigger my senses, is an inspiration that might spark an idea.
Artists that are wild at heart and don’t compromise like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Louise Bourgeois are heroes in my world, whose energy I aspire to.
"If you delve into the details
and complexity of the organic shapes,
a world of wonder and respect
for the superiority of nature opens up."
- Emma Marita Westergaard
Q: Does your work arise intellectually or intuitively? Do you work from a philosophy or artist statement?
My manifesto is to let intuition be my guide and drive.
My work must be a sensual experience of material, tactility, shape and form.
I am deeply fascinated by botany. If you delve into the details and complexity of the organic shapes, a world of wonder and respect for the superiority of nature opens up. The power that makes each leaf burst with energy and defy gravity is an endless source of inspiration.
My works are instantaneous images of living yet perishable botany.
Q: Is there an area in art that you want to improve in?
I dream of expanding to new materials, like wood and metal in the future, but for now the leather still has a lot to give.
Q: Do you have a dream project that you would undertake if you had unlimited time and resources?
I would love to create a botanical garden. Imagine walking through a garden made of black leather.
Q: Do you have any experiences with censorship? What do you think about it and how does it affect your
work?
I create for the sake of my own intuitive and tactical experience in the process.
Censorship is by definition someone else’s judgment of the work, which I consciously choose not to let interfere with my process.
Q: Art is notoriously difficult to define and there are many disagreements. How would you define art?
Art for me, is driven by an intent from the artist to express themselves.
When I experience art, I’m looking for the intent behind its creation, the energy… I want to feel the artist through the work.
I appreciate skill and technique, but without the intent, it becomes plain and irrelevant to my experience.
Q: And finally, why do you create art?
To get back to my creative roots, challenge myself and delve into the tactical physical work with my hands.
Exercise my ability to let intuition be the drive, rather than analysis.
Find more of Emma Marita Westergaard‘s work on Instagram.
Check out last month’s artist interview with Simon Garðarsson about Dark Pointillism.
And if you’re interested in seeing more enigmatic sculptures, view Esben Horn’s hyperrealistic pieces.