Muts van zwart haarvilt en zwarte wollen tricot met twee geelkoperen knopspelden c. 1958 - 1965

Katja Robinski’s hat is made from black hair felt and black wool tricot, punctuated with two yellow copper pins. The hat’s form is built up from multiple layers, where the material seems to almost collapse under its own weight, creating a series of soft, felted folds. Texture is really key here. There's a density and a thickness to the felt that makes you want to reach out and touch it, feel its weight. It’s a very tactile thing, and the pins, placed seemingly at random, pierce the surface, drawing your eye across the undulations of the form. The pins feel almost provisional, as if the hat might at any moment unravel, the components separate. I love that sense of precariousness. It’s something I often aim for in my own work, a sense of things being held together, but only just. Like a conversation that you hope to goes on forever. You can see a similar approach in the work of Annette Messager, whose sculptures often incorporate found objects and textiles in a way that feels both playful and deeply unsettling.