Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck
Penser, Manger, Partager II
Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck
Penser, Manger, Partager II
2022
Hazel rods, plant-dyed textiles, photographs, drawings, and a sound piece
In this new installation from the series Penser, Manger, Partager (French for ‘to think, to eat, to share’), whose final form is that of a habitat, Tagada Hoffbeck collaborated with architect Takeshi Hayatsu to create an intimate roundhouse with a dome, made from hazel rods, and plant-dyed textiles that are bundled and tied with ribbons and ropes. Penser, Manger, Partager II is rooted in the artist’s ongoing questioning and reflection of environmental issues, highlighting matters related to our daily diet and consumption patterns. The artist collected donations of primarily plant-based textiles their owners had no use for, some of which are from Lewisham residents through a call for participation. White and beige pieces of cotton and linens dyed and stitched together create a shelter and space for respite with a social aspect at its core. Tagada Hoffbeck views these different fabrics as a vessel for our collective memory reflected in the clothes and textiles recovered over the years and months of realising this project.
Since the winter of 2015, the artist has naturally dyed the textiles using the peelings and pits of fruits and vegetables she and her family consume daily. This slow and patient approach to ecological dyeing combines durability and serendipity. Tagada Hoffbeck has, from the beginning, adopted a humble attitude towards the practice of plant dye and this process allows her to create the patchworks necessary to finalise this habitat in the gallery. Several of the plants are also grown by Tagada Hoffbeck. A painter and transdisciplinary artist based in rural Oxfordshire, Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck’s artworks often conceal ecological messages, rendered through soft and delicate methods.
Penser, Manger, Partager II is a collaboration with architect Takeshi Hayatsu with a soundscape by Jatinder Singh Durhailay.
Penser, Manger, Partager II is a Deptford X Commission
Special Event: Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck Activation, Sun 18, 3-5pm, Lewisham Arthouse
Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck is a painter, transdisciplinary artist and cultural practitioner based in rural Oxfordshire (England). Her practice composed of painting, drawing, installation, sculpture, film, photography and writing often conceals ecological messages, rendered in soft and delicate methods. In several of the artist’s projects, interaction with the environment and others plays a central role. Solo and duo exhibitions include By Your Side at HOME By RM in London and The Things I Made at Nidi Gallery in Tokyo. Books on her practice have been published by InOtherWords Imprint, Chose Commune and Jane & Jeremy. In 2014, Johanna founded the positive and collaborative cultural project Poetic Pastel. In 2018, the artist co-founded the publication series Journal du Thé – Contemporary Tea Culture. In 2021 she founded The Gardening Drawing Club.
Image credit: Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck, Takeshi Hayatsu, Jatinder Singh Durhailay, Penser, Manger, Partager II, 2022. Photos by Corey Bartle-Sanderson & Nelta Kasparian.
