![](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_03_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1920&h=1280&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927184&s=c55a947b7d18e90884bcfe320bc457a6 1920w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_03_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1536&h=1024&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927184&s=1e6271e4d37c2617bab20d92a9b68ad5 1536w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_03_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1280&h=853&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927184&s=913ed5ec886e43f06e4134e279ad1850 1280w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_03_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1024&h=683&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927184&s=40ef770dc299eeda802d0a7017911517 1024w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_03_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=768&h=512&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927184&s=41e95cac9683da6cad43e4555e6b6a92 768w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_03_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=512&h=341&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927184&s=49c9d56b16177b2be5a1e4419ec5fe29 512w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_03_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=256&h=170&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927184&s=530524ef22d5f29126906c3161dd4e64 256w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_03_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=128&h=85&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927184&s=30ba692c079b28d59178455d6c8d8d78 128w)
Charlotte Johannesson, installation view, Compute, Croy Nielsen, Vienna, 2024
Courtesy of the artist and Croy Nielsen, Vienna. Photo by Kunst-dokumentation.com
Artist Charlotte Johannesson was born in Malmö in 1943. She is trained as a weaver and studied at Hemslöjden, a school for applied textile crafts. In the 1970s, she began delving into digital images and culture. A few years later, she and her husband Sture Johannesson founded The Digital Theatre [1] (Digitalteatern) in Malmö.
This interview – at times concise, conversational, informational – was conducted over the course of one month, first via email, then in person, then finished through e-mail. I travelled to her house in Skåne. A house which sits among a long row of standardized buildings. The front door catches the eye with its distinct shade of pink, a choice to make her house easily recognizable, she tells me. The color harmonizes with the flowers in the garden and her clothes.
Inside, we find ourselves in a dimly lit living room where coffee and cake are being served. Johannesson’s works are signs and themes that are both in and of time. Experiencing her work, I get a sense of myself as belonging to a category, a generation. The tear, the glitch, and the re-figuration sits clearly within Johannesson’s practice. Pixilated figures or slogans embroidered onto different media appear like a two-way street, back and forth, now, and then. It is a zigzag through various ins and outs, that questions the relations of (in)dependence between images, times, and their distribution.
Her practice succeeds in both a material- and historical charged meeting. Who else than Charlotte Johannesson could be so adept in bridging pre- and post-Internet consciousness?
![](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Untitled_1984_detail_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1280&h=1919&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927567&s=ab48d266b4d4c5e9e093b75d10597e95 1280w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Untitled_1984_detail_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1024&h=1535&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927567&s=430f51a7d33701c65e76039b499138bf 1024w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Untitled_1984_detail_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=768&h=1151&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927567&s=7c7e83ce88657f5f5b93a923576ab7e2 768w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Untitled_1984_detail_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=512&h=767&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927567&s=203fc3394459fa3f094efa14447cd703 512w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Untitled_1984_detail_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=256&h=383&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927567&s=f2e3b61e347be5abcc824b1ba385e650 256w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Untitled_1984_detail_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=128&h=191&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927567&s=f76b6bc1806263e210ffc78d894d1a94 128w)
Charlotte Johannesson, Untitled, 1984 (detail), computer graphics plotted on paper, 18.5 × 12.8 cm, 42 × 52 × 3.5 cm (framed)
Courtesy of the artist, Hollybush Gardens, London and Croy Nielsen, Vienna. Photo by Kunst-dokumentation.com
Charlotte, it is such a pleasure to have this conversation with you. If I may, I want to start with the colloquialism about the real world vs. the digital world. One might call this binary “two star-crossed lovers” who are competing in a zero-sum game. How did weaving help you understand and work with the early computers in the 1970s?
When I first began using the Apple computer in 1979 and later became involved with Digital Theatre [1] from 1981 to 1986, it faced resistance in the art world. In The Digital Theatre, my husband could conceive the ideas, but a programmer was needed to translate them into a language the computer could understand. This led to my involvement, although my interest was solely in images rather than computing. However, when I delved into literature on these "personal computers" such as the Apple computer and Apple II, I found myself intrigued. I realized that acquiring a personal computer would allow us to explore new potential.
I made one work where I wrote "take me to another world," because in some ways it felt like jumping into another world, where you had to operate on the computer’s terms. For me, it was quite easy to understand since I had been weaving for many years and learned how meticulous calculation is important to figure out how things work. In weaving, you work with a specific number of thread systems (warp threads), just like how early computers operated with a limited number of pixels—192 by 280 pixels, to be exact. This parallel between weaving and early digital technology was significant at the time, as it helped me understand how to create digital images. I don't think I would have started otherwise. It’s somewhat like weaving; once you start weaving, you begin to understand it.
![](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_05_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1920&h=1280&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927991&s=d466fa19add45d6bd86d3f762c80dceb 1920w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_05_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1536&h=1024&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927991&s=51fe0b297e98f3623324c775dde5eb89 1536w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_05_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1280&h=853&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927991&s=d35033ed4d2703ae4b1e871f0e353e91 1280w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_05_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1024&h=683&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927991&s=e97b1a12f4d6df958fce1a4ac9378237 1024w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_05_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=768&h=512&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927991&s=739d7f4760169fc03de65309c8114484 768w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_05_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=512&h=341&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927991&s=f0b94232fe586e1ed68b34e1dbb23930 512w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_05_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=256&h=170&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927991&s=1ebf95d364dfa0ac374cc972614ab097 256w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_05_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=128&h=85&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719927991&s=ddf3dc080cec180413a4c21805355f1d 128w)
Charlotte Johannesson, installation view, Compute, Croy Nielsen, Vienna, 2024
Courtesy of the artist and Croy Nielsen, Vienna. Photo by Kunst-dokumentation.com
Your works have a remarkable topical character in their ability to exhibit the setting of their own making, the parallel between weaving and early digital technology seems like a delicate dance. Could you give an example of how you work with this parallel?
It has always felt the same for me. When I weave, I create the images first. I start by drawing them on transparent graph paper in a large format, where each square corresponds to a warp thread. Then, I hang it on the loom and weave row by row.
I always have a clear vision of how I want the finished image to look, and if it’s supposed to look a certain way, it must be precise. When I first started weaving images, I had learned many weaving techniques, attended school, and invested time in the craft of weaving. In the 1960s, I was inspired by the Native American weavers from Mexico and Peru, who often used straight and square figures.
![](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_08_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1920&h=1280&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928214&s=6a88427267c73ffa4028115691800544 1920w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_08_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1536&h=1024&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928214&s=bad56e1ff8e16c91c1b4716d6b38edb6 1536w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_08_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1280&h=853&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928214&s=e5035a29394f2d4f5daadfc66de68770 1280w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_08_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1024&h=683&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928214&s=bad6d653e48ca66f16326c4d8f149a00 1024w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_08_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=768&h=512&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928214&s=d821c7f77eb00b6e0de1fc1db3a9c4f6 768w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_08_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=512&h=341&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928214&s=04ea2df4326c6da7fcb87e72d590f7d6 512w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_08_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=256&h=170&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928214&s=c16a1b8eae53a0cd5abf3b6859337b79 256w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_08_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=128&h=85&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928214&s=81a9094d10983b50fd17b6233d5f83e2 128w)
Charlotte Johannesson, installation view, Compute, Croy Nielsen, Vienna, 2024
Courtesy of the artist and Croy Nielsen, Vienna. Photo by Kunst-dokumentation.com
Let’s go back a bit: The introduction to the artist Hannah Ryggen has had an impact on your practice. How did you experience Ryggen’s works? What was your draw to her at a time when you were still figuring out your own visual language?
When I was at weaving school, our headmistress held a deep fascination for Ryggen’s work. She had known or met Hannah Ryggen, and one day she showed us some pictures that left me thinking, "Wow, that's what you should be making in weaving school." Because in weaving school, you learn techniques, but creativity isn’t really encouraged.
Here in Skåne, we also have a rich weaving tradition that's somewhat pixel-based, similar to what was woven in the cottages. They crafted many practical items but made them remarkably beautiful and inventive. The weavers here were highly skilled artisans. My great-grandmother, who lived in another part of Skåne, was one of these skilled weavers, and there were many like her who created beautiful pieces. While their focus was on intricate patterns and not on creating pictures per se, I still find the tradition inspiring.
![](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Take_Me_to_Another_World_2019_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1280&h=1919&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928559&s=e64e86d6a9ecf8319eec2b27137c6ea1 1280w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Take_Me_to_Another_World_2019_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1024&h=1535&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928559&s=3ad641e5da4123089df502c9d0f04228 1024w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Take_Me_to_Another_World_2019_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=768&h=1151&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928559&s=b76abc3600719c5c434f462aeb7bd4e9 768w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Take_Me_to_Another_World_2019_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=512&h=767&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928559&s=5711b2c30c6fd6848d171a6a787d9502 512w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Take_Me_to_Another_World_2019_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=256&h=383&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928559&s=503e8bc362073e4934b1ba1d94b0eef7 256w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Take_Me_to_Another_World_2019_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=128&h=191&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928559&s=99fc0fd5b82c2ee17b697ebd7476ee76 128w)
Charlotte Johannesson, Take Me to Another World, 2019, Wool, digitally woven, 107 × 59 cm
Courtesy of the artist, Hollybush Gardens, London and Croy Nielsen, Vienna. Photo by Kunst-dokumentation.com
To follow the ‘thread of time’, much of your work collects or documents a specific period. One reference could be your digital artworks, Faces of the 1980s, portraying pop cultural figures such as Boy George, David Bowie, and Ronald Reagan, among others. Could you talk about the motivations behind the periods of time that you choose in your work?
The works I make are very much influenced by time. Sure, they are political, but the point of departure is first and foremost the time I live in. One day I received a pop magazine that had an invitation to create an image of Boy George. A digital image. I thought to myself, ‘Okay, let’s see if that could work,’ and it turned out to be quite fun. I am also a fan of David Bowie, so I decided to also make a digital image of him. Later, during the war in Afghanistan, I saw a picture of the Afghan resistance leader Ahmad Shah Massoud in the newspaper and made a portrait of him as well.
![](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_01_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1920&h=1280&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928806&s=0bdd76e9584b1d4b55f0536190e9bfc3 1920w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_01_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1536&h=1024&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928806&s=c86cea5a64b9f7b04a62d1fdb196a622 1536w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_01_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1280&h=853&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928806&s=22e8be88647cefb9f853f1630f55daf6 1280w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_01_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1024&h=683&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928806&s=1df846f6af4d57fb68825753045fbda6 1024w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_01_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=768&h=512&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928806&s=dd638910a5d095badafc206506d29182 768w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_01_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=512&h=341&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928806&s=b08cf22e1a1e619afdb7c38feac24167 512w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_01_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=256&h=170&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928806&s=ec21ef12cf9361ad19a47ed631de35aa 256w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Compute_2024_installation_view_01_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=128&h=85&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719928806&s=727238fef0800042a4e221d8c6e1a1d3 128w)
Charlotte Johannesson, installation view, Compute, Croy Nielsen, Vienna, 2024
Courtesy of the artist and Croy Nielsen, Vienna. Photo by Kunst-dokumentation.com
You mentioned both René Magritte and Ulrike Meinhof as sources of interest and inspiration. You have one clear reference in your work Apple from 2019, in which you repurpose Magritte’s famous apple image, namely, Le Jeu De Morre, from 1966. Could you elaborate on how their work and lives influenced your artistic development?
René Magritte [2] and I share the same birthday, so I discovered his work early on and found it superb. His approach to creating images resonates deeply with me. As he famously said, "This is not an apple." Another artist who intrigued me was Reinhardt [3]; he experimented with many unconventional ideas. I took inspiration from these concepts and adapted them in my own way.
I prefer art that is easily comprehensible without anything strange or obscure. Everyone should be able to grasp the idea that ‘an apple in art is not an apple’; it points to something entirely distinct from a physical apple in your hand. Similarly, phrases like "A rose is a rose is a rose" also intrigued me because of the philosophical implications. I often incorporate the same form across different material; weaving, lace, paper graphics ect. Certain figures recur frequently, each with its own symbolic significance. Ulrike Meinhof [4] also captured my interest; she was a former journalist who had a profound impact through her writings and activism, particularly with troubled young girls. Her commitment to making a difference stood out to me.
![](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Apple_1984_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1920&h=1280&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719929135&s=9e8ab54acf63fdda9fbc39e9ef75c145 1920w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Apple_1984_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1536&h=1024&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719929135&s=ec1bd7c1482f26e4f549e84ed680929d 1536w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Apple_1984_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1280&h=853&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719929135&s=97824b6584089f0faefec12c0230506a 1280w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Apple_1984_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=1024&h=683&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719929135&s=871f29611b7f4c0eb6fe51fb5103eff2 1024w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Apple_1984_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=768&h=512&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719929135&s=2ac7a8e49ef2cf40ff96a62a14454476 768w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Apple_1984_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=512&h=341&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719929135&s=418890225f5e2a2367929e8100bbae57 512w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Apple_1984_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=256&h=170&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719929135&s=1dba8a13edcc373eba327ec6b1f7f078 256w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/Croy_Nielsen_Charlotte_Johannesson_Apple_1984_kunstdokumentation.com.jpg?w=128&h=85&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1719929135&s=3aea25ab0d7069a5226d46b6202da23c 128w)
Charlotte Johannesson, Apple, 1984, computer graphics plotted on paper, 13.5 × 18 cm, 42 × 52 × 3.5 cm (framed)
Courtesy of the artist, Hollybush Gardens, London and Croy Nielsen, Vienna. Photo by Kunst-dokumentation.com
"The works I make are very much influenced by time. Sure, they are political, but the point of departure is first and foremost the time I live in."
Artist
![](https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/X8A2235.jpg?w=2048&h=1365&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1709560140&s=e24f0b0318bd94e718b21bd588c5054f 2048w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/X8A2235.jpg?w=1920&h=1280&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1709560140&s=62ef3f57655c7afa7e0147e738ba2133 1920w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/X8A2235.jpg?w=1536&h=1024&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1709560140&s=8a89a3fa71e9dfe4b60f7b2dee2a4961 1536w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/X8A2235.jpg?w=1280&h=853&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1709560140&s=3ed59fd2c06ed0716b40f874022caf0d 1280w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/X8A2235.jpg?w=1024&h=682&q=82&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1709560140&s=b839dff54a2635e6baf4049d49993f95 1024w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/X8A2235.jpg?w=768&h=512&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1709560140&s=562b1453c9d78463d17aa34d7d43764b 768w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/X8A2235.jpg?w=512&h=341&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1709560140&s=c3c25b9b69df52cc03ed1c3810fdc3e7 512w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/X8A2235.jpg?w=256&h=170&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1709560140&s=52ef7eb6f6b24bf2ad31d6c8e0ec0f47 256w, https://optimise2.assets-servd.host/fluffy-tenrec/production/X8A2235.jpg?w=128&h=85&q=60&fm=jpg&fit=crop&dm=1709560140&s=8d818c2ecd2b6e09b99d8389cdb44dd5 128w)
Charlotte Johannesson’s work presents a synthesis between the artisanal and the digital. Her practice involves working with both the craft technology of the loom and the digital technology of computer programming, exploring their formal and conceptual connections. Trained as a weaver, Johannesson began creating tapestries in the 1970s as art to address socio-political injustices. From her early experiments across textile and technology, Johannesson’s practice has developed to encompass various media including weaving, painting, digital print and digital slideshows Merging traditional weaving techniques with the experimental investigation of early computer technology, Johannesson continues to reinvent her practice to explore the possibilities for social and cultural change.
Charlotte Johannesson (b. 1943, Malmö, SE) lives and works in Skanör, Sweden. Recent solo exhibitions include: Kunsthalle Friart Fribourg (Fribourg; CH), Nottingham Contemporary (Nottingham; UK) (both 2023); Badischer Kunstverein (Karlsruhe; DE), Hollybush Gardens (London; UK) (both 2022); Museo Reina Sofia (Madrid; ES) (2021).
Charlotte Johannesson, installation view Take Me To Another World, Museo Reina Sofia, Madrid, 2021. Courtesy the artist, Croy Nielsen, Vienna, and Hollybush Gardens, London
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Fafaya Mogensen (b. 1996) is a Copenhagen-based curator and writer specialising in artists who blend mediums such as musical performance, performance art, film, and video art. Her curatorial focus centres on new understandings of the relationships among art, institutions, and underrepresented subject positions. In 2021, she co-founded the nomadic curatorial platform Arrange the Ants, which aims to create space for BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic), femme, queer, and working-class individuals in the art world. She currently works as a Curator and Project Manager for artistic research at Art Hub Copenhagen. Her writing has appeared in Kunstkritikk, E-flux, and Provinciale11. She holds a BA in History of Art and an MFA in Curating from the University of Copenhagen and Goldsmiths, University of London.
[1] The Digital Theatre (Digitalteatern) in Malmö was the first digital arts laboratory in Scandinavia. The lab functioned as a self-managed and institutional platform for both artistic projects and professional research. The Digital Theatre was active until 1985. Her husband handled the technical and Charlotte was in charge of the graphic production.
[2] René Magritte (1898-1967) was Belgian painter and well-known Surrealist. Magritte began his career as a graphic artist and posed questions to the nature of representation.
[3] Ad Reinhardt (1913–1967) was an American painter who encouraged the viewer’s active engagement in the act of looking at and experiencing art.
[4] Ulrike Marie Meinhof (1934-1976) was a German journalist and leftist commentator. In 1968, she became a prominent figure in the Red Army Faction (RAF).