Janaina Tschäpe
Enchanting Photographer and Painter By Adriana SzkolnikBrazilian-German artist turns myths corporeal.
Embracing our fantasies is a task that requires courage, even more so if we expose them to the public eye. Janaina Tschäpe, a Brazilian/German artist based in Brooklyn, has valiantly translated her personal myths into universal language. Named after Yemanjá, an Afro-Brazilian sea goddess, her work -- drawings, paintings, photographs, and performance-to-video -- skillfully explores the concepts of identity, body, and fantasy. With enough room for the viewer to complete and extend the story, Tschäpe enjoys creating fragmented narratives where the real and surreal meet halfway. Her photographs superimpose lush settings and peculiar landscapes with dreamlike models, usually women, involving filled latex attached to the bodies. The result is an enchanted scenery of dewy mythic creatures evoking a realm that is neither right here nor far away. Less conceptual than her photographs is the series of oil paintings and drawings that, although still lyrical, conjure a more immediate sensuous experience. Her explorations of the color palette are as vivid and luminous as nature itself. Ethereal, delicate, bright, and passionate, Janaina Tschäpe’s wonderland is undeniably remarkable.
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