Laundered Objects

In her exhibition at Studio17, Katharina Bjelland offers viewers deeper insight into her ongoing exploration of the everyday middle-class struggle to balance work, family, and leisure within a consumer-driven culture.

Single use packaging, a byproduct of modern life, is a recurring theme for Bjelland. This exhibition reveals Laundered objects – an extensive archive compiled over six years, comprising more than 800 items collected from the pockets of the artist’s family. For the first time, Bjelland also presents a monumental foam sculpture inspired by the iconic “Scrub Daddy” household sponge. Additionally, the exhibition debuts a series of new prints centering around the slippery divisions of labor, social hierarchy and economic style. 

Katharina Bjelland (b. 1979) is a German artist based in Stavanger, Norway. Bjelland’s artistic method is grounded in working with found materials, text, print and sculpture, finding her inspiration in everyday objects and situations. At the core of Bjelland’s practice is an investigation into the daily struggle of balancing work, domestic labour and leisure. Bjelland graduated from ‘Kunstskolen i Stavanger’ in 2021. She also holds a Master’s degree in business administration from Germany and has lived in London and Shanghai before moving to Stavanger with her young family.