The Face Between Us examines the fragile boundary between the inner self and the external world, drawing on Julia Kristeva’s theory of the abject to explore how identity is shaped through the borders we create and defend. Working with fluid and transformative materials, Dalager investigates how these boundaries can dissolve, shift, and be re‑formed.
Departing from illustration’s traditional explanatory role, she develops what she calls “weak illustration,” embracing ambiguity, vulnerability, and subjective perspectives. A central focus is the ethics of representing others, highlighting how the gaze—never neutral—shapes both interpretation and power.
The artistic results were presented at Visningsrommet USF in June 2025, including three works and the accompanying artistic reflection.
You can read more about the dissertation on our Norwegian pages.
Research Catalogue
See the exposition in Research Catalague: The Face Between Us: Abjection, the Gaze, and the Body at the Border of Self and Other in Authorial Illustration. by Thilde Dalager.
Supervisors:
Gustav Kvaal (KMD, Norway) Cathrine Anyango Grünewald (Konstfack, Sweden)
Bio:
Dalager holds a Master’s degree in Visual Communication from the Royal Danish Academy in Copenhagen (2015). She has also studied at HAW (Germany) and OCAD University (Canada), and worked with animation at Animatitlán (Mexico). Her practice is interdisciplinary, with a particular focus on experimental animation, painting, printmaking, text, ceramics, and textiles.
The public defence is open to the public – Welcome!