Jana Francke is a bad designer*. Antagonistic and antithetical, she explores ways to undercut the mechanisms that inform collective and individual self-perception.
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TABLE
WARE
My obsession with and love for food as a visceral experience might be the reason I work with ceramics. Despite their seemingly amorphous, random shapes, I create tableware designs from direct inspiration: patterns, objects or landscapes that hold specific meaning are transformed via drawing and sculpting into utile shapes.
It is a process of multiple replications, translations and
transplantations of forms. Each model is created by hand
based on an abstract template, which in turn is derived
from the original that has “in-formed” the piece.
SCULPTURE
Working with clay is a collaboration, because clay is something we work WITH, not ON. I sometimes call clay the Mariah Carey of materials, because you can coax, guide, ask, beg for a performance - but ultimately, it’s all on the clay’s terms. For most of history, ceramic objects have been objects that tell the story of their own making, objects that are made by hand, and that are shaped in a way that makes sense - because they are made with feeling and through the senses. I mostly work by touch, rather than by sight. It’s as if my awareness
is focused in my fingertips and in my mouth and I cannot tell these loci of sensation apart anymore. Whenever my consciousness surfaces, working
on a piece becomes utmost tension. I taunt my own fear of failure and losing control by challenging myself to do things that easily slip out of my control. They are not nice, but they carry all the beauty of emotions that I try and hide. They an invitation to stare hard at the open wound, find grace in it, and ultimately to swap anxious denial for compassionate attention.
BESPOKE
DESIGN
I develop custom-made, highly recognisable tableware for and with chefs, sommeliers and restaurateurs that is designed to create individualised canvases for their craft while adhering to highest standards of durability and performance.
When working with clients, my main objective is understanding what lies at the core of their culinary mission, what informs their identity and what drives their passion. From geological topographies to the growth patterns of mould funghi, the basis of my designs is as unique as the people and businesses I work with.
INSTALLATION
& EVENT
Ceramic work is an amalgamation of ‘goal-oriented’ practical
objects that are bound both within the potential and limitations of
the clay, and the sensibilities and capabilities of the hands.
Their trajectory is at the same time backwards and forwards
and sideways: creation is determined by an intention for a future,
by the past and present experience, as well as the past and present
body of the artist, by the characteristics of the material, and even by
a modicum of uncertainty.
My work is concept-driven and deeply embedded in various
contexts, so creating multidimensional experiences is a logical
conclusion. Ceramics cannot be conceived without these multilateral
trajectories, and my reasoning is that they in turn should not be ex-
perienced in a void. Speaking to and engaging all senses, curating
spatial installations and collaborating on sound, scent, environment
and experience is a crucial part of my work.
TABLE
WARE
My obsession with and love for food as a visceral experience might be the reason I work with ceramics. Despite their seemingly amorphous, random shapes, I create tableware designs from direct inspiration: patterns, objects or landscapes that hold specific meaning are transformed via drawing and sculpting into utile shapes.
It is a process of multiple replications, translations and
transplantations of forms. Each model is created by hand
based on an abstract template, which in turn is derived
from the original that has “in-formed” the piece.
SCULPTURE
Working with clay is a collaboration, because clay is something we work WITH, not ON. I sometimes call clay the Mariah Carey of materials, because you can coax, guide, ask, beg for a performance - but ultimately, it’s all on the clay’s terms. For most of history, ceramic objects have been objects that tell the story of their own making, objects that are made by hand, and that are shaped in a way that makes sense - because they are made with feeling and through the senses. I mostly work by touch, rather than by sight. It’s as if my awareness
is focused in my fingertips and in my mouth and I cannot tell these loci of sensation apart anymore. Whenever my consciousness surfaces, working
on a piece becomes utmost tension. I taunt my own fear of failure and losing control by challenging myself to do things that easily slip out of my control. They are not nice, but they carry all the beauty of emotions that I try and hide. They an invitation to stare hard at the open wound, find grace in it, and ultimately to swap anxious denial for compassionate attention.
BESPOKE
DESIGN
I develop custom-made, highly recognisable tableware for and with chefs, sommeliers and restaurateurs that is designed to create individualised canvases for their craft while adhering to highest standards of durability and performance.
When working with clients, my main objective is understanding what lies at the core of their culinary mission, what informs their identity and what drives their passion. From geological topographies to the growth patterns of mould funghi, the basis of my designs is as unique as the people and businesses I work with.
INSTALLATION
& EVENT
Ceramic work is an amalgamation of ‘goal-oriented’ practical objects that are bound both within the potential and limitations of the clay, and the sensibilities and capabilities of the hands. Their trajectory is at the same time backwards and forwards and sideways: creation is determined by an intention for a future, by the past and present experience, as well as the past and present body of the artist, by the characteristics of the material, and even by a modicum of uncertainty.
My work is concept-driven and deeply embedded in various contexts, so creating multidimensional experiences is a logical conclusion. Ceramics cannot be conceived without these multilateral trajectories, and my reasoning is that they in turn should not be ex-
perienced in a void. Speaking to and engaging all senses, curating spatial installations and collaborating on sound, scent, environment and experience is a crucial part of my work.