Backstage with
Artist / Designer
JONATHÄN JOUAN
WE HAVE THE PLEASURE OF DELVING INTO THE WORLD OF JONATHÄN JOUAN, A VISIONARY ARTIST AND DESIGNER WHOSE WORK MASTERFULLY BRIDGES THE GAP BETWEEN TRADITION AND INNOVATION. ROOTED IN THE RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE BRETON COUNTRYSIDE AND DEEPLY INFLUENCED BY GLOBAL NARRATIVES, JOUAN’S ARTISTIC JOURNEY IS A TESTAMENT TO HIS RELENTLESS PURSUIT OF MEANING AND BEAUTY.
YOUR FORMATIVE YEARS IN THE BRETON COUNTRYSIDE HAVE HAD A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON YOUR IMAGINATION AND CREATIVITY. CAN YOU TELL US MORE ABOUT HOW THE LOCAL FOLKLORE OF BRITTANY HAS INFLUENCED YOUR ARTISTIC VISION?
IN BRITTANY, FRANCE, THERE ARE MANY MYTHS, INCLUDING THOSE SURROUNDING KING ARTHUR, WHO IS SAID TO HAVE BEEN ITS RULER. HOWEVER, FOR ME, CELTIC FOLKLORE IS ESPECIALLY SIGNIFICANT, WITH MYTHS LIKE THE KORRIGANS—MISCHIEVOUS FOREST GNOMES—FAIRIES, AND DRUIDS. WHEN COMBINED WITH THE DOLMEN ARCHITECTURE, THESE MYTHS IMBUE THE BEAUTIFUL LANDSCAPES WITH A SENSE OF MYSTICISM, OFTEN RAISING MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS. THIS BLEND OF LEGENDS AND THE QUESTIONS THEY PROVOKE HAS BECOME A FOUNDATIONAL LAYER IN MY ARTISTIC VISION.
YOU MENTION THAT DREAMS SERVE AS A CATALYST FOR PERSONAL GROWTH. COULD YOU ELABORATE ON HOW THIS PHILOSOPHY HAS SHAPED YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS AND YOUR WORKS?
TO ANSWER THIS, I MUST FIRST EXPLAIN THAT, LIKE MANY, I STRUGGLED TO FIND MY PLACE DURING MY YOUNGER YEARS. I SOUGHT TO UNDERSTAND WHY, IN ORDER TO FILL THAT VOID. I FOUND A SENSE OF FAMILIARITY AND COMFORT IN FOLKLORE, MYTHS, AND LEGENDS. OVER TIME, I REALIZED THAT THESE STORIES COULD BE INTERPRETED IN MULTIPLE WAYS, OFFERING DIFFERENT LESSONS DEPENDING ON ONE’S LIFE EXPERIENCES. THIS TOUCHES ON A DREAMLIKE WORLD, HOWEVER BIASED IT MAY BE, AS IT CONNECTS ALL TEMPORALITIES (PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE) TO FORM TEACHINGS THAT OFFER DIFFERENT LESSONS DEPENDING ON THE TIME. I HAVE USED THESE STORIES AS A MIRROR FOR INTROSPECTION, WHICH I NOW TRY TO REPLICATE IN MY WORK, CREATING THE SAME BIAS THROUGH MY PROJECTS.
” I STRUGGLED TO FIND MY PLACE”
CAN YOU PROVIDE EXAMPLES OF PROJECTS OR ARTWORKS YOU PARTICULARLY ADMIRE? WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE WHILE WORKING ON THEM, AND HOW DID YOU OVERCOME THEM?
OF ALL MY PRODUCTION, THE PIECE OF FURNITURE THAT I PREFER IS L’INFINI FAUTEUIL WHICH WAS PRESENTED AT THE ART+DESIGN SALON IN NEW YORK IN 2018. IT IS A COMPLEX BUT VERY COHERENT PIECE OF FURNITURE. I DESIGNED AND MACERATE THIS PROJECT FOR A LONG TIME BEFORE FINDING THE FORM THAT SATISFIED ME.
I WANTED THIS ARMCHAIR TO REFLECT THE SHAPE I HAD IMAGINED BUT ALSO TO BE COMFORTABLE. I MADE A LIFE-SIZE MODEL OUT OF STYROFOAM. I HAD THIS PROTOTYPE TESTED BY SEVERAL PEOPLE WITH DIFFERENT BODY TYPES AND I MODIFIED THE SHAPE UNTIL I OBTAINED THE BEST ERGONOMIC COMPROMISE.
“TO GIVE A GLIMPSE OF THIS JOURNEY”
YOUR WORK OFTEN INVOLVES A METICULOUS BLEND OF DESIGN AND MEANING. CAN YOU SHARE SOME INSIGHTS INTO YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS, FROM THE INITIAL CONCEPT TO THE FINISHED PIECE?
TODAY, I DIVIDE MY WORK INTO THREE PARTS RELATED TO TEMPORALITY:
● THE PAST: I WORK ON LEGENDS AND FOLKLORE, TRYING TO EMBODY THEM IN PHYSICAL WORKS THAT ALLOW THE PERSON INTERACTING WITH THEM TO EMBODY THE MYTH. I OFTEN USE ICONOGRAPHY IN THE CONCEPT, INCORPORATING ATTRIBUTES OF THE STORIES INTO THE PHYSICAL SHAPE. THE WAY I ENGAGE PEOPLE IN EMBODYING THESE MYTHS IS THROUGH A FORM OF NAVIGATION WHEN THEY USE THE PIECE, OFFERING AN INTANGIBLE EXPERIENCE MEANT TO BE FELT, NOT JUST SEEN.
● THE PRESENT: FOR THIS PART OF MY WORK, I MOSTLY CREATE CUSTOM PROJECTS FOR PEOPLE WHO COME TO ME WITH THEIR STORIES OR CHERISHED MEMORIES THEY WANT TO EXPRESS IN A SPECIAL ART PIECE. I ASK THEM FOR THEIR STORIES AND, IF NECESSARY, SPECIFIC DETAILS THAT CATCH MY ATTENTION DURING THEIR STORYTELLING. THESE DETAILS ARE CRUCIAL FOR ME BECAUSE THEY BRING THE STORY TO LIFE.
● THE FUTURE: THIS PART OF MY WORK IS MORE PERSONAL. IT’S A STORY I’M WRITING CALLED “AMOEBAS REALM.” THE UNIVERSE OF “AMOEBAS REALM” IS SET IN A DYSTOPIAN FUTURE WHERE OUR TIME IS SEEN AS ANCIENT MYTHOLOGY. IN THIS WORLD, A SPECIES OF EVOLVED AMOEBOID BEINGS HAS TAKEN CONTROL OF THE PLANETARY ECOSYSTEM, SHAPING A NEW REALITY WHERE THESE CREATURES DOMINATE THE LIFE CHAIN. THIS PART OF MY WORK COMBINES DIFFERENT MICRO-STORIES, PRESENTING CHARACTERS AS A “MISE EN ABYME” OF OUR SOCIETY, BUT ALSO EXPRESSING SOME PERSONAL STORIES I WANT TO SHARE. THESE STORIES ARE PAIRED WITH ARTWORKS, FUNCTIONAL PIECES, PERFORMANCES, ETC., TO GIVE A GLIMPSE OF THIS JOURNEY.
“ONE FORM WHISPER THE BIRTH OF THE NEXT FORM ”
WHAT ROLE DOES RESEARCH PLAY IN YOUR CREATIVE PROCESS? HOW DO YOU GATHER INSPIRATION AND INFORMATION BEFORE STARTING A NEW PROJECT?
I NEED TO DAYDREAM FOR A LONG TIME IN FRONT OF A BLANK SHEET OF PAPER. THEN I JUGGLE BETWEEN DRAWING AND SCALE WOODEN MODELS. SOMETIMES I REDRAW MY MODELS AS OBSERVATIONAL DRAWING TO UNDERSTAND WHAT I HAVE DONE.
SOMETIMES I WRITE OR I TRY TO TRANSLATE INTO WORDS, THE FORM I FEEL. BY ALTERNATING BETWEEN WRITING, DRAWING AND SCULPTURE, I END UP OBTAINING A FORM THAT MAKES SENSE. ONE FORM WHISPER THE BIRTH OF THE NEXT FORM AND THE DESIRE TO DO BETTER, DIFFERENTLY: IT’S A NEVER-ENDING GAME.
AFTER YOUR GRADUATION IN 2020, YOU DECIDED TO MOVE TO COPENHAGEN. HOW HAS IMMERSING YOURSELF IN A NEW CULTURAL ENVIRONMENT IN DENMARK INFLUENCED YOUR ART AND TECHNIQUES?
RETURNING TO EUROPE AFTER NORTH AMERICA IS INDEED INTERESTING; THE MENTALITIES ARE CLEARLY DIFFERENT. SCANDINAVIAN CULTURE IS ADVANCED IN THE WAY THE GLOBAL SYSTEM WORKS WELL AND PLACES A STRONG EMPHASIS ON THE WELL-BEING OF ITS POPULATION. DENMARK IS ALSO EMBLEMATIC FOR ITS FURNITURE DESIGN, AND THE DANISH PEOPLE ARE VERY PROUD OF THAT LEGACY, WHERE THE CONCEPT OF “HYGGE” (A FORM OF COZINESS) PAIRS WELL WITH FURNITURE IN HOMES. THIS EXPLAINS THE “SOFT & SWEET” MINIMALISTIC DESIGN THAT IS COMMON HERE. I’VE EXPERIMENTED WITH THIS CONCEPT, AND THAT SOFTNESS HAS LED ME TO REFINE MY DESIGNS IN GENERAL, WHICH I NOW COUPLE WITH RYE STRAW.
” I EXPRESS AN EMOTION THAT RESIDES WITHIN ME ”
APANESE FOLKLORE APPEARS TO HAVE A SPECIAL PLACE IN YOUR HEART. WHAT IS IT ABOUT JAPANESE NARRATIVES THAT CAPTIVATE YOU, AND HOW DO THEY MANIFEST IN YOUR WORK?
JAPANESE FOLKLORE IS INDEED VERY SPECIAL TO ME. I WAS BORN AT A
TIME WHEN JAPANESE POP CULTURE, THROUGH MANGA AND ANIME, WAS ACCESSIBLE. I FOUND A FORM OF SPIRITUALITY IN IT THAT, IN A WAY, SAVED ME FROM MY OWN TORMENT AND GAVE ME A PATH TO FOLLOW. OVER TIME, I SOUGHT TO DEEPEN MY KNOWLEDGE OF IT, TO UNDERSTAND THE LAYERS OF THESE NARRATIVES. COMING FROM A MONOTHEISTIC
CULTURE, I WAS AMAZED BY THE DIVERSITY AND THE POSSIBILITY OF SEEING DIFFERENT LAYERS OF OUR WORLD WHERE SPIRITS AND HUMANS COULD INTERACT, ESPECIALLY IN SHINTO TALES. THIS BELIEF ALSO TAUGHT ME WHY AND HOW TO RESPECT THINGS BEYOND THE HUMAN REALM, OFFERING A DIFFERENT PATH FROM THE OMNIPOTENT AND OMNIPRESENT DEISM THAT CHRISTIAN CULTURE PRESENTED TO ME. IN MY WORK, THE TRANSMISSION OF THESE TEACHINGS BECAME A CORE ELEMENT. I TEND TO BELIEVE THAT INANIMATE OBJECTS (ESPECIALLY HANDCRAFTED ONES) ARE LIKE SHELLS FOR A SOUL, FILLED THROUGH THEIR INTERACTIONS. I CREATE WORKS WITH STRONG SHELLS, ADAPTED TO WHAT THEY WILL CONTAIN THROUGH THEIR INTERACTIONS.
YOUR STUDIES IN ART HISTORY PROVIDED A STRONG FOUNDATION, YET YOU FELT A SENSE OF INCOMPLETENESS. WHAT WAS MISSING IN YOUR ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE, AND HOW DID YOU FIND THAT MISSING PIECE IN CABINETMAKING?
THEORETICAL STUDIES BROUGHT ME INCREDIBLE KNOWLEDGE, BUT THERE WAS A PROBLEM FOR ME: I DIDN’T WANT TO LIVE IN THE SHADOW OF THE PAST. WHEN I LEFT FOR CANADA TO LEARN CABINETMAKING, IT WAS AN IMPULSE DECISION MADE IN A FEW MINUTES WHEN I APPLIED. I HAD NO PLANS, BUT I FELT IT COULD BE PART OF MY PATH, SO I DID IT. IT WAS THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR ME BECAUSE THE FIRST TIME I CREATED SOMETHING WITH MY HANDS, WITH HEART, TELLING A STORY THAT ONLY THOSE WHO ASK COULD KNOW, I FELT THAT THE EMPTINESS PRESENT IN MY PREVIOUS STUDIES DISAPPEARED. IT WAS MY WAY OF LEARNING TO LIVE IN THE PRESENT BY DOING SOMETHING MEANINGFUL, AS WHAT I CREATED COULD STAND ON ITS OWN.
STRAW MARQUETRY IS ONE OF THE SKILLS YOU TAUGHT YOURSELF. WHAT DREW YOU TO THIS PARTICULAR
TECHNIQUE, AND HOW DOES IT COMPLEMENT YOUR BROADER ARTISTIC PRACTICE?
FOR ME, STRAW MARQUETRY BEGAN AS AN EXTENSION OF FURNITURE MAKING. I TAUGHT MYSELF THIS PRACTICE TO CULTIVATE THE PATIENCE I NATURALLY LACK. IT WAS ALSO A TECHNIQUE NOT TAUGHT IN SCHOOL, AND I WANTED TO INCORPORATE SOMETHING UNIQUE INTO MY WORK THAT COULDN’T BE REPLACED BY A ROBOT, IN CONTRAST TO MASS PRODUCED FURNITURE, WHICH, FOR ME, IS JUST A POOR SHELL, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER. TODAY, IT HAS BECOME AN INTEGRAL PART OF MY WORK AND MYSELF, AS I’VE EVOLVED WITH IT THROUGH SIGNIFICANT STRUGGLES, FROM HATING IT TO NOW LOVING IT. THE MATERIAL ITSELF, RYE STRAW, IS A NATURAL MATERIAL THAT MIGHT BE CONSIDERED HUMBLE, BUT IT CAN BE PROCESSED WITH MINIMAL TRANSFORMATION. FOR ME, IT’S A BEAUTIFUL WAY TO TAKE A RAW MATERIAL AND INCORPORATE IT INTO SOMETHING THAT NOT ONLY EMBELLISHES BUT ALSO SUBLIMATES A PIECE.
“BEFORE GOING TO MONTREAL, I DIDN’T HAVE AN APPROACH”
TRANSITIONING FROM THE THEORETICAL WORLD OF ART HISTORY TO THE HANDS-ON DISCIPLINE OF CABINETMAKING IN MONTREAL MUST HAVE BEEN A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT. HOW DID THIS CHANGE INFLUENCE YOUR APPROACH TO ART AND DESIGN?
COMING FROM FRANCE AND MOVING TO MONTREAL HAD A GREATER INFLUENCE ON MY APPROACH TO ART AND DESIGN THAN JUST THE SHIFT IN DISCIPLINE. BEFORE GOING TO MONTREAL, I DIDN’T HAVE AN APPROACH, JUST KNOWLEDGE ABOUT IT AND LEARNING ABOUT THOSE WHO HAD SUCCEEDED THROUGH THE AGES. I LEARNED ALL THESE CLASSICS AT UNIVERSITY IN FRANCE, A COUNTRY WITH A RICH HISTORY, WHERE I ALWAYS FELT CONSTRAINED BY TRADITION. MOVING TO A COUNTRY WITH A SHORTER HISTORY (POST-COLONIZATION, ROUGHLY 400 YEARS), I FELT, THROUGH THE PEOPLE AND THE GENERAL ATMOSPHERE, THAT IT WAS OKAY TO BE YOURSELF. SO, YES, IT WAS MORE THAN A SIGNIFICANT SHIFT; IT ALLOWED ME TO EMBRACE AND UNDERSTAND A PART OF THE PATH I WANTED TO TAKE BUT HADN’T UNDERSTOOD BEFORE: THAT I WANTED TO HAVE A ROLE IN CHANGING THE MENTALITY ABOUT PHYSICAL OBJECTS IN THE “IKEA GENERATION” AND TO CREATE WORKS THAT COULD ENDURE THROUGH GENERATIONS.
ESTABLISHING JONATHÄN JOUAN STUDIOS IN 2017 WAS A BOLD MOVE. WHAT MOTIVATED YOU TO TAKE THIS STEP, AND HOW HAS THE JOURNEY OF RUNNING YOUR OWN STUDIO BEEN SO FAR?
BECAUSE I COULDN’T FIND MYSELF IN SOMEONE ELSE’S PRACTICE, IT WAS NATURAL FOR ME TO TAKE THIS STEP. FOR ME, IT WASN’T SO MUCH A BOLD MOVE AS A LOGICAL PATH. I TOOK THAT STEP EVEN BEFORE MY GRADUATION AS A CABINETMAKER, WANTING TO FREE MYSELF FROM SOME UNCLEAR BOUNDARIES AT THAT TIME. I MADE A LEAP OF FAITH REGARDING MY FUTURE.
SO FAR, I MUST ADMIT THAT I DIDN’T REALIZE AT THE TIME HOW MUCH WORK AND DEDICATION IT WOULD REQUIRE. TAKING THAT STEP SO EARLY LED TO MANY MISTAKES AND MOMENTS OF DESPAIR, FEELING LOST ABOUT MYSELF AND MY PRACTICE. BUT I UNDERSTOOD THAT THIS IS HOW I LEARN: BY DOING, NOT JUST READING AND THINKING. LOOKING BACK, IT ALLOWED ME TO EXPERIMENT FAR MORE THAN IF I HAD WAITED TO BE “READY,” AND IT HAS ENABLED ME TO HAVE A COHESIVE CORE IN MY PROJECTS, ACCEPTING THAT I’M NOT JUST A FURNITURE MAKER BUT SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO MAKE PEOPLE DREAM, JUST AS I DID AS A CHILD AND STILL DO AS AN ADULT. RUNNING A STUDIO IS INDEED A CHALLENGE, ESPECIALLY WHEN YOU’RE DOING ALL THE STEPS YOURSELF TO RELEASE A PROJECT.
TAKING THIS PATH REQUIRES A BROAD RANGE OF KNOWLEDGE, SO VAST THAT IT SOMETIMES FEELS LIKE I WOULD NEED MULTIPLE LIFETIMES AND A GREAT DEAL OF ADAPTABILITY TO GROW AS AN ARTIST. BUT I CAN SAY IT’S WORTH IT, AND I’VE MANAGED TO STAY TRUE TO THE ESSENCE OF MY WORK WITHOUT COMPROMISING.
AS YOU CONTINUE TO PUSH THE BOUNDARIES OF YOUR CRAFT, WHAT FUTURE DIRECTIONS OR PROJECTS ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT PURSUING?
I’M CURRENTLY VERY EXCITED ABOUT THE BROADER “AMOEBAS REALM” PROJECT. AT THE MOMENT, I’M FOCUSING ON FINE ART PIECES RELATED TO IT, BUT IT’S OPENING UP POSSIBILITIES I COULDN’T HAVE IMAGINED, INCLUDING PERFORMANCES, FASHION DESIGN, ART FURNITURE, AND MORE. ALL OF THIS IS SET WITHIN BOTH EPIC AND CASUAL TALES WHERE I HOPE PEOPLE WILL FIND THEMSELVES. AS PART OF THIS, I WILL CONTINUE TO EXPLORE NEW WAYS OF USING RYE STRAW AND DEMONSTRATE HOW THIS SUSTAINABLE MATERIAL CAN BE BOTH SIMPLE AND COMPLEX AT THE SAME TIME.
WHETHER THROUGH THE INTRICATE PATTERNS OF HIS MARQUETRY OR THE NARRATIVE THREADS WOVEN INTO HIS DESIGNS, JOUAN’S WORK SPEAKS TO THE SOUL, ENCOURAGING A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE.
JONATHÄN, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SHARING YOUR TIME AND INSIGHTS WITH US.
