//
“TIL(BE)HØR”
Graduation work.
Cotton fabric, acrylic, ink, curtain fringe, metal
rod, fishing line.
4 meters x 2 meters. 2025
to this year’s graduation exhibition. *Til(be)hør* is both a gift to visitors and a demand to be seen and heard.
Kart is a trained calligrapher, and her compositions are often structured like a Sufi trance ritual: undulating
curves swirling in and out of sacred geometry. The work evokes the image of a prayer rug while
simultaneously referencing the artist’s memories of an everyday summer ritual: washing rugs and hanging them out to dry on
the balcony.
The piece also functions as a portal, perhaps to an ethereal realm. Surrounding the portal, Kart has painted the *Datura*
plant—commonly known as the moonflower: a mind-altering, hallucinogenic plant that
blooms only at night. Historically used across various mystical traditions worldwide,
the moonflower symbolizes the spiritual experiences Kart has had throughout her life:
her shamanic practice and her matrilineal heritage. Here, the psychedelic blossoms are composed of a cascade of organic brushstrokes reminiscent of the ecstatic dance of Sufi dervishes.
Kart draws inspiration from the poet and astrologer Claire Nakti, whose simple verse—“as she danced in her
unfathomable profundity”—comes to life in the moonlight.
//
“Thank you.”
– inkjet print of my nephew on cheesecloth
incorporating henna, honey, milk, chili,
strawberry and hibiscus tea, and black tea. 60x50 cm.
2023.
the Danish flag at my father’s restaurant in Års—
which he opened after arriving in Denmark as a
guest worker in 1986. His gaze is lowered,
his posture slightly withdrawn. The celebration
is evident, yet his sense of belonging wavers.
The work revolves around childhood, national
symbolism, and the quiet negotiation between
being seen and fitting in. A moment where
identity is not yet a statement, but a feeling.
.
//
“All this in my mouth” – henna, rum, raspberry, black oil ink, cotton fabric. 70x100 cm. 2025.
I dette værk undersøgte jeg gennem research forholdet mellem rum, tid og stjernestøv. Her fandt jeg frem til, at stoffet ethylformiat findes i gasserne i Mælkevejen, samtidig med at det forekommer naturligt i blandt andet hindbær og rom. Denne videnskabelige forbindelse ønskede jeg at integrere i værket som en materiel handling.
Under arbejdsprocessen drak jeg rom og spiste hindbær, mens jeg arbejdede med hænderne direkte på værkets overflade. Bevægelserne har efterladt hvirvlende spor, som for mig minder om et ribben, der forsøges åbnet – en gestus mellem kroppen og kosmos.
Afslutningsvis ønskede jeg et punktum – pun intended. Derfor tilføjede jeg en sort cirkel udført i sort olieblæk som en reference til det supermassive sorte hul TON 618, et af de største observerede sorte huller.
//
As my painting practice and my work with henna have evolved, I have allowed trance-like states to emerge as part of the working process. For me, henna functions as a material that amplifies the qualities of the substances it encounters. My deliberate selection of these ingredients allows them to exist as autonomous material agents, collectively forming a poetic and latent language that opens my henna works to new layers of meaning.
In this work, my research into space, time, and stardust led me to discover that ethyl formate—a chemical compound identified in the molecular clouds of the Milky Way—is also naturally present in raspberries and rum. I wanted to translate this scientific connection into a material gesture within the work itself.
During the making of the piece, I drank the rum and ate the raspberries while working directly with my hands on the surface. The swirling marks left by these movements resemble, to me, the opening of a rib cage—a gesture that attempts to bridge the body and the cosmos.
Finally, I wanted to end the composition with a period—pun intended. I introduced a black circle using black oil ink as a reference to TON 618, one of the largest known supermassive black holes, allowing the work to conclude in a gesture that echoes both cosmic vastness and material finality.
I paint in trance. Henna, coffee, breastmilk substitute, pomegranate, earth — I use materials that misbehave. They soak into cotton unevenly, darken over weeks, do things I can't plan for. That's the point. I trained as a calligrapher first, so my hand still wants to coil and repeat, and a lot of my compositions end up looking like prayer rugs or the shape a body makes mid-ritual.
Some of that comes from further back than school — a matrilineal line of shamanistic practice I've only inherited in pieces. The moonflower shows up a lot in my work for that reason. It only opens at night.
I grew up in Aalborg. My father came to Denmark as a gæstearbejder in 1986 and eventually opened a restaurant in Års. A lot of my work sits in that space — not fully here, not fully anywhere else. A nephew at a birthday table with a Danish flag on his cake, looking like he hasn't decided yet whether he belongs in the photo. I studied psychology before my MFA at KADK, and I think that's why I care more about what identity feels like in the body than what it looks like as a symbol.
My graduation piece, Til(be)hør, hung over the entrance at Kunsthal Charlottenborg in 2025. Four metres of cloth asking to be seen and heard at the same time. That's still roughly what I'm after.
Om mig
Jeg maler i trance. Henna, kaffe, modermælkserstatning, granatæble, jord — jeg bruger materialer, der ikke opfører sig pænt. De trænger uens ind i stoffet, mørkner over uger, gør ting jeg ikke kan planlægge. Det er meningen. Jeg er uddannet kalligraf, før jeg blev maler, og det kan man stadig se — mine kompositioner snor sig og gentager sig, som et bedetæppe eller den form en krop antager midt i et ritual.
Noget af det stikker dybere end min uddannelse — en matrilineær shamanistisk arv, jeg kun har fået i brudstykker. Måneblomsten går igen i mange af mine værker af den grund. Den blomstrer kun om natten.
Jeg er vokset op i Aalborg. Min far kom til Danmark som gæstearbejder i 1986 og åbnede senere en restaurant i Års. Meget af mit arbejde bevæger sig i det rum — hverken helt her eller helt et andet sted. En nevø ved et fødselsdagsbord med det danske flag på lagkagen, som om han endnu ikke har besluttet, om han hører til på billedet. Jeg læste psykologi, før jeg tog min MFA på KADK, og det er nok derfor, jeg er mere optaget af, hvordan identitet føles i kroppen, end hvordan den ser ud som symbol.
Mit afgangsværk, Til(be)hør, hang over indgangen til Kunsthal Charlottenborg i 2025. Fire meter stof, der både er en foræring og et krav: at blive set og hørt. Det er stadig nogenlunde det, jeg går efter.
// Official specialisation certificates issued by The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts are available upon request.
2018–2025 |
MFA & BFA in Fine Art Specialization in oil painting and digital art, including AI.
The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (KADK), Copenhagen.
2021–2022 | Exchange Programme École des Beaux-Arts, ENSAPC, Paris.
2010–2012 | Upper Secondary (HF) Aalborg Cathedral School (Aalborg Katedralskole).
Solo Shows
(upcoming) Tincidunt TBA
Ultricies Ultricies,
Congue Nisl
2026
(upcoming) Vestibulum-Vitae
Auctor Ipsum,
Dictumst Ligula,
Porta Libero
2024
Dræb Hyggen
Gallery Q
31-03 November 2024
Tabula Rasa
Gallery Q
12-15 January 2023
Node - BIPOC Group
Gallery Q
15-18 June 2024
Smokers Festival
Maanefiskeren
Christania 2022
BFA First Semester
SPLAB
Mejlgade 34
2018
Street Station Collective
Dans Poolhall
2017
Work
2026 |
Social Media Manager & Communications/Content Producer for the artist collective lim_collective.
Managed social media, communications, and content production for Diaspora Shorts 2026, an international short film festival (15–20 June) held at Ranum Asylum Centre under the theme "Voices, Rights, Freedoms."
2025–Present
Facilitator —
Projekt MASALLAH Community arts and culture project supporting marginalized youth in Aalborg. Contributed to grant applications, including for the 15. Juni Fonden and the AA32 European Capital of Culture 2032 open call.
2025–2026
Freelance Workshop Facilitator - Delivered a facilitation workshop at Ranum Asylum Centre. Delivered a positionality and bias workshop in Aarhus.
Rojkart Freelance DJ, with performances including Northside Festival.
2021
Teacher & Mentor — Holstebro Talent Academy Full-time teacher and mentor for youth in the art programme, supporting applications to bachelor's programmes at fine art academies across the Nordic region. 8 of 10 students were accepted into their desired programme.
2020–2024 |
Admissions Jury Member — The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Served on admissions panels for bachelor's and master's programmes at The Jutland Art Academy and The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. Helped select 10 students (Aarhus) and 30 students (Copenhagen). Reviewed and assessed roughly 350 applications in Aarhus and 700 in Copenhagen. Presented and argued the case for selected candidates. Worked closely with a jury of professors, the rector, and external examiners.
2016–2018
Visual Art Teacher — UngAalborg, Aalborg Municipality
Full-time teacher delivering visual art electives across Aalborg's primary and lower-secondary schools. Taught children and youth aged 10–16 in drawing, graffiti, calligraphy, and painting.
2014–2016
Barista — Baresso Coffee, Aalborg Storcenter Full-time barista responsible for the register, stock, and training of new staff. Training was funded by the company.