Hanne Haug Johne

Past and present queers merge with trolls from Norwegian folklore. Through an installation of costume and fashion I depict a space in between reality and fiction, diffusing where one starts and the other ends. The trolls and the queers share a history of belonging, and unbelonging. Religion and state authorities have invalidated and vilified their ways of being, and forced them to exist outside the norms. I want to let the trolls and the queers reclaim their narratives – not as mythical presences, but alive in our contemporary time.

How humans interact with, and can become part of nature, has been a research ground throughout my practice. Through recreating natural structures such as moss, rock and seaweed in synthetic materials, and attaching them to already existing garments, I want to visually underline the point of intersection between the wild and the intentional, and make it tangible. Queer codes, hairy nails, bedazzled underwear and unexpected tails: the clothes are becoming characters on their own.