Laura is a French illustrator living in Berlin and a longstanding member of THE BAKERY family. During October, she co-hosted her first exhibition ‘Les Oiseaux de Nuit’ with friend and fellow illustrator, Edith Carron, at the Slow Galerie in Paris. We stopped by her studio in Kreuzberg to talk about the exhibition, what it’s like to work with ceramics and the joy of creating with a friend.
TB: Tell us about your exhibition ‘Les Oiseaux de Nuits’. What was the idea behind it?
LJ: Edith and I are both French illustrators living in Berlin. When we met, we both wanted to produce something for ourselves so we agreed to put on an exhibition together. We chose the title Les Oiseaux de Nuit (“Night Owls”) because we wanted a broad theme that would allow us to just paint and be free to experiment. With this title, we could capture lots of different moments – from partying, to being alone in nature, melancholic scenes and more happy ones too.
TB: How was it working together with Edith?
LJ: I really like working with somebody and Edith and I have a really complimentary way of working. It doesn’t only take away a bit of the stress, it also helps a lot to keep you motivated and share ideas.
TB: You exhibited ceramics as well as your illustrations?
LJ: Yes. We had this idea to create a fresco and just do elements of the body in ceramic and then illustrate on the wall in between. We didn’t know how it would work out, so we just started very impulsively, as we always do.
TB: What was it like to work with ceramic as a medium for illustration?
LJ: We used it very much as we would paper. We decided not to go crazy this time and to make the surface of the clay flat, first of all for the transport and also as we are not ceramic experts. If we had started to experiment with 3D designs we knew it would take more time and some things would probably break in the oven the first time around.
TB: What was your first impression when you saw all your work exhibited together?
LJ: We were quite surprised. When we started working together I was a bit sceptical as we use different mediums, but when we put everything on the wall people couldn’t even recognise who did what. We got really good feedback, especially about how well it goes together. Our styles are very complimentary as is the way that we work. We both have quite a free technique and we’re very spontaneous, she even more than me.
TB: Has it made you want to try other materials?
LJ: I think we still have a lot of possibilities. We are both very into animation and we thought that we might do something with that in the future. We also want to experiment more with ceramics, working in volume too. Although then the transport would be even harder!
TB: How has the feedback been so far?
LJ: Really good. Everybody was interested in this unique way of seeing ceramics and lots of people wrote to me saying they enjoyed it, so I hope it touched people a little. That gives you motivation and good energy to continue creating.
TB: You seem very happy with the outcome?
LJ: Yes, it was a really good experience, even if it started in a really chaotic way! But for now, I am quite happy to go back to client work. They are totally different processes and I like this balance of both. You have the brief and then you have to come up with a fun idea or a good way to represent something simply. So that’s always a little challenge in its own way which is good.
