ColdHeggem: Out of Sight
A dialogue between nature and culture, human beings and their drive, with handmade spectacles and the concept of seeing as baseline. By ColdHeggem in collaboration with a number of selected contributors.
In June, Bornholm's Center for Arts and Crafts present a new installation, “Out of Sight”, with works created by the duo ColdHeggem, consisting of Rasmus Cold and Irene Heggem, with contributions from sound artist Steven Borth II, photographer Alex Archimbaud and a wide range of other contributors. It is craftsmanship that in its essence is about the unique framing of face and persona with an aesthetic and sustainable natural material.
“We are driven by curiosity: What is the nature of humans contact with nature on the conscious and subconscious level – and how does this contact evolve. With this exhibition, we would like to encourage people to be more aware of nature in ourselves – to strengthen our relation with nature surrounding us. We would like to strengthen the awareness of human cohesion with nature. The installation consists of several chapters, which put together form a tribute to spectacles made from raw materials turned into practical and aesthetic everyday objects,” Irene Heggem explains.
Out of Sight
ColdHeggem’s exhibition consists of 21 works and is named by the ambiguous idiom out of sight, which can mean far away, excellent, hidden, exciting, spectacular, invisible, precious or unattainable. The exhibited works include craftsmanship, photography, sound art and texts in a continuous dialogue between nature and culture, between the individual human being and the driving force behind. Concretely, the exhibition takes its starting point in the paradox that we as consumers prefer mass-produced plastic glasses on our faces instead of the forgotten craftsmanship of buffalo horn glasses. Even though glasses made of horn are lighter, stronger, sustainable, last longer and fit better because they are individually adjusted. It is not rational, and therefore it becomes another symbol of alienation, how we as consumers are persuaded to prefer an industrial product to nature’s own and better material.
About ColdHeggem
Artist duo started in 2003 consisting of Irene Heggem and Rasmus Cold. Rasmus Cold is a designer, scenographer, co-owner and co-founder of ColdHeggem. Educated at Danmarks Designskole, created scenography at theaters such as Nørrebro Teater, Det Kongelige Teater and Aveny-T and created production design, animation and graphics for films and TV series. Recipient of the Statens Kunstfond, teacher at the Danish Film School and more. Irene Heggem is CEO, concept developer, co-owner and co-founder of ColdHeggem. Trained chef, pastry chef, chocolatier and bachelor in health communication, trained in project management, has worked as a head chef, with food policy, set design and more. Together, the duo has run the design workshop ColdHeggem, Pistolstræde 6, in Copenhagen since 2011, where they work with horn and leather and manufacturing of handmade horn glasses and various leather goods in their own design. They have exhibited at, among others, Enter Art Fair, Hempel Glass Museum, Le Carrousel des Metiers d´Art et de Creation in Paris, Vor Frue Plads Craftfair, CPHmade and more.
Days in the life / the road ahead seems clearer / season of insight
– Suburban sensei, 2024
Selected contributors
For this occasion, Cold Heggems mutual cooperation has been extended to also include a number of selected spectacle wearers, artists and professionals. About the subject “To see” there are contributions from Kim Skotte, Maja Lisa Engelhardt, Jorun Veiteberg, Tormod Tingstad, Christian Have, Erik Wikkelsø, Birte Zeuthen, Birgitte Escherich, Mickey Melskens og Jytte Kløve. Included are portraits of Rane Willerslev, Gun Gordillo, Gunnar Wille, Mie Skov, Henning and Lillian, Mogens Krabek, Sille Krukow, Eddy Boyer, Paul Cunningham and Birgit de Boissezon.