Veslemøy Lilleengen:
Brytningstid

28. February – 05. April 2026

Free entrance
Closed. Opens Wednesday (12PM-5PM)

Webs Veslemøy Lilleengen Sølje Foto Susann Jamtøy

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Veslemøy Lilleengen’s artistic practice is rooted in her upbringing in Ørlandet, in a family of forestry workers, and in more than 20 years as a resident of Svartlamon in Trondheim. Manual labour, material knowledge, and reuse function as carriers of experience and cultural memory.

On Saturday, February 28 at 14:00, Trøndelag Centre for Contemporary Art has the pleasure of opening the exhibition Brytningstid (Time of Transition) by the Trondheim-based artist Veslemøy Lilleengen. At the opening, Svartlamon Damekor will perform at 15:30.

Lilleengen’s artistic practice is rooted in her upbringing in Ørlandet, her family background of forestry workers, and more than 20 years as a resident of Svartlamon in Trondheim. Manual labour, material knowledge, and reuse function as carriers of experience and cultural memory.

In the exhibition, Veslemøy Lilleengen presents new textile and sculptural works based on traditional crafts, heritage, frugality culture, and survival knowledge. She works with textiles and natural materials such as soil, birch, linden, and the dyeing method potteblått (chamber-lye blue), within a craft practice where sustainability, reuse, and community are central. The works are interwoven with oral storytelling traditions and Trøndelag’s culture of sharing, exploring how knowledge is shaped, transformed, and passed on between people and generations.

In the exhibition space, an old kitchen table forms a natural gathering point. Visitors are led toward the table by an 8.5-metre-long floor runner made of birch branches. Another central work is a new plant-dyed textile from the long-term project Norsk Bauta (2021–), a five-by-five-metre blue patchwork quilt covering the art centre’s window surfaces. In this project, Lilleengen produces potteblått textile dye using indigo and urine from female artists, with one dye bath made per participant.

Webs Veslemøy Lilleengen 2026 Foto Susann Jamtøy 010

Several works are based on the artist’s family history. In the wall installation In Memory of Lind (1904–2025), 121 sticks have been carved from the old farmyard tree in Ørlandet that recently fell in a storm. She has collected old military flashlights and preserved her father’s chewing-gum sculptures through tin castings. In the forest, Lilleengen gathers, among other things, bracket fungi, which are processed into textile-like surfaces, and birch root shoots that are woven into vidje, a traditional technique for binding and fastening. The wall sculpture Sølje consists of more than one hundred such vidje fastenings. In a larger textile work, nightgowns from the artist’s Forest Finnish family from Hedmark have been sewn together into a vertical banner. The various elements form a cohesive visual language connecting body, labour, and landscape.

"Brytningstid" is both a family chronicle and an ode to the artist’s birthplace, Ørlandet, and her Forest Finnish heritage from Hedmark. The exhibition explores how knowledge is transmitted through work, material, and community, and opens a space for sharing and experience—with respect for the complexity of traditions.

Lilleengen has received support for the exhibition from Arts Council Norway, Trondheim Municipality, and the Norwegian Visual Artists Fund.

Webs Veslemøy Lilleengen 2026 Foto Susann Jamtøy 066

«Til minne om Lind (1904–2025)».

Webs Veslemøy Lilleengen 2026 Foto Susann Jamtøy 018

"Himmel over Ørland" (2026), part of the project "Norsk Bauta" (2021-)

Veslemøy Lilleengen (b. 1975, Ørlandet) is a visual artist working with textile, sculptural installations, and performance, and is based in Trondheim. She holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Bergen Academy of Art and Design and a Master’s degree from the Trondheim Academy of Fine Art.

Recent exhibitions include «Av jord» at Telemark Art Museum, Notodden (2024), the Grant Exhibition at Kunstmuseet Nord-Trøndelag, Namsos (2023), the Annual Exhibition of the Norwegian Association for Arts and Crafts at the National Museum, Oslo (2023), and «Arvegods» at Nils Aas Kunstverksted, Inderøy (2023).

Her work has also been shown at Trondheim Art Museum, Trondheim kunstmuseum, Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum, Trøndelagsutstillingen, Babel visningsrom for kunst and the Hannah Ryggen Centre (Ørland). Lilleengen’s works are part of the collections of the Trondheim kunstmuseum og Nordenfjeldske Kunstindustrimuseum.