Born in Denmark and migrating to Australia with her family at a young age, Helle approaches her art form as a way to make sense of the world around her. She takes inspiration from the modern world and uses recycled materials, trash, rubbish she finds, driftwood, and almost anything else to create art that encourages people to look at the world around them more carefully and through another lens.
Some of her most prominent work consists of crocheting sea creatures from reclaimed wool and plarn (plastic bag yarn). What a powerful way to speak to the crisis of our waste production and the way it is killing our planet.
In addition to her crochet work, she does artistic collecting, embroidery, quilting, and drawing. According to a great interview at Chain Creative, she loves that crochet connects to so many things including the generations of the past, math, and science. She also likes that it lends itself well to sculpture work and that it offers a rhythmic experience that is meditative.
We’ve gathered some of her crochet pieces to show you here, but you can connect to her website for a full view of her portfolio. You can also see her artwork and get updates on her Instagram and Pinterest.
The Art of Helle Jorgensen
Welcome to the world of Helle Jorgensen, an artist who does beautiful work using reclaimed materials to create fresh takes on nature.
In 2012, Jorgensen's "Disposable Culture" went on tour around the world. These beautiful coral sculptures were created using crochet techniques and plastic bags.
From her Paracosm Collection in 2020, Helle uses discarded tapestry wool and pins to create a forest floor display.
Taking a closer look at this exhibit, you can see that Jorgensen made perfectly small pieces that resemble mushrooms, leaves, roots as well as items that could resemble man-made products.
A Continuation of Paracosm Collection in 2020 made from camp bed and hemp. Jorgensen tells us that this collection was the embodiment of the cathardic experience of working with your hands through grief. After losing her father, Helle found her craft a means to work through intense feelings, thoughts and problems, and this collection is living proof of that process.
Jorgensen not only uses crochet in her artwork, but also weaving. Here she uses Bangalow palm inflorescence and hemp.
This vessel is made with various plant materials and weaving.
Launched in 2018, Jorgensen crocheted these 50 shapes from discarded plastic bags and entomological pins. Each pieces is approx. 10 x 6 x 4cm.
The detail work on each of these mini pieces is really stunning. I love how they look like things found in the sea, without necessarily being so. Jorgensen puts a lot of effort into making pieces that make you think and draw your own conclusion of interpretation.
Launched in 2017, "A Typology of Useless Objects" is a collection of mixed medium displays. The Shamans Keyring is made using clay, plant material and wooden hook.
Jorgensen shares that "the reason for making these objects was to reveal and satisfy the fundamental need to understand and articulate the creative process." Each piece has so many small elements that took months of work before the full picture design was even considered.
All of Jorgensen's pieces are thought provoking and show great patience and attention to detail work. If you've enjoyed what you see here, we highly recommend further browsing her website and socials to get the full expansion of her art.