ARTIST STATEMENT

• Sum up the main character of your work, your long-term interests and themes.
  

My work can be awkwardly romantic, shy, confused, committed to change the world and miserably depressed. All at once with a luminous peachy glow of golden–hour.

In my practise I translate contemporary structures of feelings into evocative installations playing with our differing perceptions of word and imagery. Conceptual projects explore what things are like and how they appear, as well as how – in this age of social networks – we are capable of communicating with one another about them.

I’m interested in connecting individual, minor concerns with global issues. Thus my projects oscillate between all to familiar everyday experiences and unavoidable grand questions of life dominated by technology, alienation, overload, mass-extinction and Beyoncé.

• Describe the context of your work – what are your inspirational sources and theoretical starting points, which artists and tendencies do you consider as referential to your work.

I find inspiration outside the visual arts: mainly in pop culture (literature, pop music, TV) and especially, in a social and cultural environment of daily life. The work is usually grounded in textual narrative, which I find the most sufficient in a way it can deliver crucial emotions, like misunderstanding, perplexity or fatigue, and tenderness or sense of humor on the other side of emotional spectrum. In this sense I identify context of my work with contemporary artists (which I admire) who works with a written word as Nora Turato, Hanne Lippard, Julie Béna or Jaakko Pallasvuo.

• Try to characterize what makes your work specific, wherein lies its force, what makes it different from the work of artists with similar approaches and themes.
  

In addition to my artistic practice, I try to be active in other projects and thus deepen my experience and interests.

I make a living working as a florist and gardener. Our florist’s focus on local and seasonal flowers, which we grow according to the principles of organic farming or gently pick in nature. By doing so we try to find sustainable alternative to extremely non–ecological imported flowers. This practice brings me new and very special experiences and skills in a different directions: artistic, environmental and labor-transforming, but it also teaches me how to actually apply currently discussed need of care, responsibility and sustainability and how to cohabit a world with a non-human species.

Last year I became part of the local ballroom culture by joining the very first Prague based vogue house. In a vogue dance I found a way how to be expressive and politically engaged at the same time. Ballroom breaks down the boundaries of gender and social origin, which I found fascinating and above all inspiring.

Gardening and vogue seems to be very different activities, but what connect them is physicality: one offer physical contact with nature by labour and care, second brings awareness of one's own body and its physicality (and sexuality). I think those interests were the reason for the new performative approach in my projects, where I put myself in the role of a performer.

I hope these activities helped me to develop and shape my artistic language and brough some newly found meanings, postures and impressions, which can be artistically specific or at least genuine.

• What is your work process like? Do you deal with preparation and research? How do you search for your themes? How do you choose the media you work in?

Theme usually comes as a grand surprise. After days full of void it suddenly appears and seeks my attention. Same as an unpaid bill would do.

While oscillating between physical objects and textual narratives, a situation becomes a key word for my work; performative act dominates my interdisciplinary vocabulary. Words turn sculptural while texts become compositions within the formal assemblage of speech, writing and images.

• What is your vision for the future? How do you want to develop your work and continue your previous projects/realizations? What is your long-term goal/dream?
  

I still naively hope the future is bright even tho daily news say something else. I’m planning to try to argue both of those positions in my forthcoming realizations.

I'm currently working on publishing a small book of my texts and poetry, where I'm trying to master the art of ''how to be a sad feminist who is environmentally conscious without being annoying''. 

My long term goal is to keep on spending my time by creating fantastic worlds. And I wish everybody can do the same. At least time to time.

BIOGRAPHY

Valentýna Janů (*1994 in Prague) main medium used to be photography, which she studied at FAMU in Prague. After graduating from FAMU, she went on to study intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts, school of Dušan Zahoranský and Pavla Sceranková, where she finished the master degree in 2020. She thus applies the concept of reflecting on the relationship between reality and the image of reality – a characteristic quality of photography – to other artistic areas by naturally composing installations consisting of original objects, photographs, videos, sound, or text. Amongst her solo presentations are I'm sry at National Gallery in Prague, Salty Mascara at Fait Gallery, Brno and Is Your Blue The Same As Mine at Prague City Gallery (all 2018).