“Every knot has a breath,” says Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto, whose immersive sculptures in cotton invite a sensory escape from everyday reality. American artist Nick Cave describes his work as “figurative sculptural,” where textiles and discarded materials suggest a “second skin” that conceals gender, race, and class.

For Finnish artist Kaarina Kaikkonen, second-hand shirts carry a sense of intimacy and memory. After losing her father as a child, she recalls: “I wanted to wear his clothes around me.” Similarly, Japanese artist Chiharu Shiota uses dresses as stand-ins for the body, with threads tracing the invisible connections between humans.

The video also features Dutch artist Claudy Jongstra and Icelandic artist Shoplifter.

Interviews: Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen, Marc-Christoph Wagner, Jonas Hjorth, Jarl Therkelsen Kaldan, Stinna Toft Hald, Sean Hanley and Anders Mørch.

Camera: Mark Nickels, Rasmus Quistgaard, Jonas Hjorth and Anders Mørch.
Produced and edited by Roxanne Bagheshirin Lærkesen

Copyright: Louisiana Channel, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, 2026

Louisiana Channel is supported by Den A.P. Møllerske Støttefond.