Work in progress. Autobiographical project combining dress and poetry.

(Below assisted self-portraits taken in collaboration with Blanca Garcia Paja)

Canvas was created in collaboration with painter Sirpa Sarkijarvi. The concept, created and realised by Henrica Langh started with a collection of 8 blank garments, which were visually completed by Sirpa Sarkijarvi’s bold and expressive brushstrokes.

The theme of the collection explores existence in a world of chaos, beauty, and pain. It is about nostalgia and memories, mortality, and the relationship between the self and the outside world. Each dress was given a theme through a name, based on which

Sirpa Sarkijarvi then created a unique painting onto the finished dress.

This collection comprises two layers: Memento Mori and Agliophobia. The first layer is a series of corsets inspired by what is literally underneath our skin, as well as our most intimate thoughts and feelings – the things we carry deep within. The corsets were buried in the ground for several weeks, giving them dilapidated and stained look; alluding to the act of burying feelings and the fragility of everything that makes us who we are. The second layer symbolises the daily armour we wear and cover the body almost completely; giving only a little glimpse of what is underneath. They represent both the physical things and the behaviours we adorn our selves with; things that communicate feelings and desires, provide strength and protection, or create façades of distracting lies.