How Jean Jullien makes light of negative news in his practice | Jean Jullien
Summary
TLDRIn an interview, French illustrator and artist Johan Papin discusses his creative upbringing and early illustration work during school. He aimed to bring art to the public domain instead of just galleries. Over time his work evolved organically from daily social media cartoons to colorful landscape paintings and installations, influenced by experiences like having a child. He sees humor and beauty as defenses against negativity. Though proud of large temporary installations, he accepts their impermanence. He tries maintaining freedom to experiment and fail within commercial work. Despite anxiety over audience reactions, he aspires to balance commercial and personal projects across platforms to maximize expression.
Takeaways
- 😊 Johan grew up with influences from street culture, theater, music and more which encouraged his creativity
- 👨🎨 He started in graphic design but realized he was not very good at it and wanted more creative freedom across mediums
- 🎭 Johan likes to work across high and low brow mediums from commercial work to galleries to reach different audiences
- 😂 Humor is a defense mechanism for Johan against constant bad news rather than an intentional effort to be funny
- 🌅 Painting landscapes was a reaction to negative news and social media, wanting mental space and happiness
- 🖼️ Ephemeral large-scale installation works are some of Johan's favorites though they get destroyed after exhibitions
- 📝 Sketchbooks are an un judged space for experimentation and failure which Johan has kept up for over 20 years
- 👪 Returning to create art in his hometown where he grew up was highly meaningful
- ✨ Johan balances commercial and personal work which motivates him and provides financial stability
- 🗓️ He has several major upcoming projects in Paris, New York, a TV show and more this year
Q & A
How did Johan's upbringing influence his creative path?
-Johan's upbringing played a significant role in shaping his creative path. Although not explicitly encouraged to pursue art, he was not discouraged either. His exposure to a mix of highbrow and lowbrow culture, thanks to his father's interest in pop culture and his mother's profession as an architect and curator, provided a rich, eclectic mix of creative influences.
What is notable about the city Johan comes from and how did it influence him?
-Johan comes from Nantes, France, known for its street culture, particularly street theater, and events like Voyage à Nantes. The city's vibrant cultural scene, including street performances by Royal de Luxe featuring giants and elaborate narratives, contributed to Johan's eclectic and diverse creative influences.
How did studying graphic design at Central St. Martins impact Johan's work?
-Studying graphic design at Central St. Martins significantly impacted Johan's work, embedding a foundation of typography, composition, and color. The playful and experimental approach encouraged at St. Martins, along with the pragmatic training he received in France, has influenced how he composes his artworks, integrating graphic design principles even in his paintings.
Why did Johan transition from graphic design to more personal artistic endeavors?
-Johan transitioned from graphic design to more personal artistic endeavors after realizing graphic design might not fully accommodate his creative aspirations. Despite initially not aiming to become an illustrator or painter, his desire for freedom and exploration led him to pursue a path that allowed for broader creative expression.
What was the focus of Johan's final project at the Royal College of Art?
-Johan's final project at the Royal College of Art focused on creating a series of minimal and impactful images for a mass audience, rather than solely for art connoisseurs. He aimed to provoke thought and laughter through a visual language rooted in the tradition of poster art, bending commercial communication tools for dialogue on contemporary matters.
How does Johan balance highbrow and lowbrow elements in his work?
-Johan balances highbrow and lowbrow elements in his work by not choosing a single direction and embracing the freedom to express different ideas through various platforms. This approach allows him to engage with both social media and museum/gallery spaces, adapting his message according to the platform and audience.
What role does humor play in Johan's work?
-Humor plays a significant role in Johan's work as a response to the consistently negative news cycle. It serves as a defense mechanism, where Johan attempts to find and twist something that bugs him into something funny or witty, as a way of countering negativity.
Why has Johan shifted towards painting and landscape artworks?
-Johan shifted towards painting and landscape artworks as a natural progression influenced by changes in his personal life, including starting a family and discovering surfing. This shift allowed him to reflect on happier, slower themes and be mentally available for his family, marking a departure from the fast-paced creation and social media engagement.
How does Johan perceive the impermanence of his art, especially for installations and murals?
-Johan perceives the impermanence of his art, particularly installations and murals, as a valuable aspect of creation. Although initially fine with the idea of his art being temporary, the actual destruction of his works can be emotionally challenging. However, he appreciates the uniqueness of experiencing art that isn't permanently accessible, aligning with the digital age's ephemeral nature.
What upcoming projects does Johan have planned?
-Johan has several projects lined up, including a project in Paris at the B Mar department store involving giants and a story told through window displays. He also has a show in New York, a TV show about his parents in the works, and a significant show about escapism planned for the next year, among other endeavors.
Outlines
🎨 Creative Beginnings and Influences
Johan discusses his upbringing and the influence of his family's interest in pop culture and architecture on his and his brother Nikolai's creativity. Growing up in Nantes, France, a city known for its vibrant street culture, including street theater and events like Voyage à Nantes, provided Johan with a mix of high and low cultural experiences. He reflects on the encouragement to be creative without being explicitly pushed towards it, crediting his environment for nurturing his artistic side. Johan's education in graphic design at Central St Martins in London is highlighted as a pivotal point in his career, where he was encouraged to explore various mediums, leading to a strong foundation in graphic design principles that continue to influence his work as an artist and illustrator.
🔄 Balancing Commercial and Personal Work
Johan talks about the importance of maintaining a balance between commercial work and personal artistic endeavors. He emphasizes the value of having diverse platforms to express different ideas and reach various audiences, from social media to museum exhibitions. Despite the challenges of navigating between highbrow and lowbrow art forms, Johan enjoys the freedom his practice offers. He shares insights into his early career struggles with choosing between graphic design and illustration, eventually finding his unique path that blends both. Johan also mentions his influences, including iconic graphic designers like Paul Rand and artists who manage to straddle the line between commercial and personal work, inspiring him to document contemporary matters in a visually engaging way.
🤔 Humor and Wit in Art
Johan discusses the role of humor and wit in his artwork, describing them as defense mechanisms against the negativity in the world. He explains how he uses observation of everyday situations to create art that makes people laugh and think, applying graphic design techniques to enhance the impact of his work. Johan's shift towards painting, influenced by personal life changes and a desire for a slower pace of creation, is also covered. He shares how painting allows him to reflect on beauty and humor in a more contemplative manner, despite initially fearing a loss of audience interest when moving away from more direct comedic expressions in his art.
🎨 Evolution of Style and Medium
Johan reflects on the evolution of his art style and the mediums he explores, from drawing and illustration to painting and public art. He discusses the challenge of staying true to his interests while also considering audience expectations, ultimately choosing to pursue what makes him happy. Johan highlights the importance of integrating drawing into his exhibitions in new ways, using his work to comment on various themes such as tourism, childhood, and societal issues. He also talks about a significant project that involved painting a 13-meter-long mural for a museum show, showcasing his approach to creating art that contributes to a collective narrative while being deeply personal.
🌍 Impact of Temporary Art
Johan shares his perspective on creating temporary art installations and the emotional impact of knowing his work will eventually be dismantled. He values the uniqueness of experiencing art that cannot be replicated digitally, emphasizing the importance of ephemeral projects in his career. Johan discusses his approach to creating art as a form of personal satisfaction and exploration, allowing him to experiment and develop his practice organically. He also mentions how sketchbooks play a crucial role in his creative process as a space for experimentation, failure, and the development of new ideas.
🔄 Continual Growth and Experimentation
In the final paragraphs, Johan reflects on the balance between his commercial projects and personal artistic development. He stresses the importance of maintaining a space for experimentation and failure, which he finds crucial for creative growth. Johan discusses various significant projects, including public art commissions and collaborations that have allowed him to explore different artistic mediums and narratives. He concludes by sharing his upcoming projects and his approach to staying motivated and innovative in his work, highlighting the ongoing evolution of his artistic journey.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Graphic design
💡Humor
💡High and low brow
💡Painting
💡Sketchbooks
💡Ephemeral art
💡Childhood
💡Storytelling
💡Escapism
💡Anxiety
Highlights
Johan discusses his upbringing and the influence of his family's interest in pop culture and architecture on his creative development.
He talks about the vibrant street culture of his hometown, Nantes, France, which blended high brow and low brow influences.
Johan's education in graphic design at Central St Martins and how it informs his current work as an artist and illustrator.
The transition from graphic design to a broader artistic practice, driven by a desire for creative freedom.
His approach to creating work that is accessible to a mass audience, blending humor and visual storytelling.
The significance of his time at the Royal College of Art for his development as an artist.
Johan's emphasis on not wanting to be confined to a single direction in his art, maintaining a balance between high brow and low brow work.
The importance of humor in his work as a response to the consistently negative news cycle.
How painting became a more prominent part of his work as he sought to explore themes of beauty and nature.
His engagement with public art and the impact of large-scale projects in his hometown of Nantes.
The evolution of his work from digital and graphic to more physical and spatial forms of expression.
Johan's process of creating stylized versions of reality through a limited drawing skill set, developing a unique visual language.
The balance between personal and commercial work as a source of motivation and inspiration.
The challenge and importance of maintaining a space for experimentation and failure in his practice.
Upcoming projects, including a public art project in Paris, an exhibition in New York, and an animated TV show about his parents.
Transcripts
hi Johan thank you very much for joining
us how are you I'm good thank you very
much for having me and everyone for
coming you're in in the bright lights
now yeah yeah I know um well yeah thank
you very much for joining us at Nic of
Tuesdays I thought we would start from
uh the very beginning if that's all
right your your upbringing because I
know your your brother younger brother
Nikolai is also an artist and a musician
um he's a sculptor I think as well um so
how much were you encouraged to be
really creative when you were um when
you were growing up was it a big part of
your life kind of being creative in art
I don't think we're encouraged but we
were not discouraged okay um my my dad
was like really into pop culture so
there was a lot of like comic books and
music and movies lying around and my mom
was um working as architect and curator
so she would take us to some shows she
was curating and so we got uh we got
like a fair mix of high brow and low
brow which was nice and but I wasn't
really pushed on us it was just sort of
like part of the culture and I come from
a city called not uh which is in France
at least known for um a lot of uh Street
culture um not like graph and stuff but
more like Street Theater and um now
there's this thing called Voyage not
which organize a lot of events in the
streets all around we had this company
called royal Deluxe which used to
organize um like you would have Giants
walking through the city you would have
like a giant book opening with the story
of friends being narrated by actors and
this kind of stuff so there was a a nice
eclectic mix of creative outputs
throughout my childhood um yeah oh
interesting I know there's a there's a
contingent from non in in the studio in
the audience tonight
so um and I guess I mean you you
mentioned there like high brow and low
brow which I think is something really
interesting we'll probably come on to
that in a little bit but um you you
studied graphic design you went on to
study graphic design at Central St
Martins here in London um you're
obviously now known more as an artist
and illustrator but how much do you
think graphic design that kind of
background and that grounding in graphic
design kind of plays into your work now
um a lot I think I think that sort of um
yeah it's always been there I studied in
a very um more old school pragmatic um
course in France for three years before
coming to St Martin and to learn like
the basis of typography composition
color and all of that and and when I
came to St Martin it the the way of
teaching was quite different it very
playful and we're encouraged to try
video advertising illustration book
making everything um but I think even
now when I do paintings like surf
paintings and things like that just the
the way to compose the painting is the
same way I would compose a poster and
you know the way I would do the trees in
a in an almost
um turning them as icon in their own
sort of like visual alphabet is the same
I would compose poster with typography
um so I think it's it's sort of like the
the backbone of everything that I do no
matter the medium and what I guess at
what point did you realize that you
didn't want to be a graphic designer I
guess that was at one point the the
dream but um when did you realize I was
just not very good at it um no but also
I I I don't know and you know I never
wanted to to be an illustrator or or a
painter I I don't think I ever wanted to
be maybe uh comic book and animation
when I was younger cuz that's the stuff
that I used to uh to obsess over but
when I was in St Martin's I didn't
decide on a on a path and that was super
exciting I just wanted to keep that
freedom to be able to not have to decide
okay and the next I guess the next step
for you was you went on to the Royal
College of Art for your ma in in visual
communication I I found this statement
on on line which is something that you
wrote about your your final project and
um it is a bit long but I thought I'd
read it in full cuz it is it's also
fascinating I'm sorry I'm sorry no but
it's genuinely fascinating and it kind
of it speaks to your work now even but
you might find this a little bit
embarrassing I'm sorry um but you said
for my degree I've worked on a series of
minimal and practical images that are
aimed at a mass audience rather than
produced solely for a crowd of Visual
Arts connoisseurs to be viewed only in
specialized spaces and Publications I
try to use the commercial and public
domain to create a visual language that
aims to make people laugh and think
visually based in the continuity of a
certain tradition of poster art I've
bent this communication tool used mainly
for commercial purposes to provoke a
dialogue on contemporary matters that
people can relate to which I think is
just like a lovely way of uh that sounds
very
pompus how much of that do you still
kind of agree with or do um I think the
I I totally uh don't acknowledge uh I'm
very embarrassed by it but know I I I I
I know what I was trying to say and and
and for sure like I still still have a
very strong appetite for um a fair
divide between High BR and low BR um
social media or Museum versus gallery or
client work um I don't want to choose
One Direction and that's why I enjoy the
practice that I'm in at the moment is
that I I get to do a bit of everything I
touched the bit in the gallery work and
it's very good because it pays the rent
but then museum is open to all and and
super important socially I think and you
don't actually you don't say the same
thing based on the platform so if you
have many things to say or if you're
unsure but certain things then there's a
platform for that and and diversity
helps you to be able to express
different ideas for different people and
how did people respond to that work I
guess you know you talked about it being
minimal and practical when you were you
know at that early stages of your career
did people I don't know they think it
was maybe too too practical too minimal
how is that received either at the RCA
or or just afterwards um well I think at
the it was complicated at theier because
I got asked to um to decide on a path
illustration or graphic design and I
didn't feel like I was a good
illustrator a good graphic designer and
I I just wanted to continue playing and
the same time I I was lucky to um to
have landed a few commissions uh and I
wanted to make the most of them and keep
doing them so I used the studio and made
some really good friends met some really
interesting people but I'm not sure I
was the best student uh at following the
curses but that's okay yeah no
absolutely that's perfectly okay um I
guess which other designers and artists
were your kind of biggest influences
back then you know we I've read that
statement but um yeah who do you think
was kind of influencing your thinking
about your work back then well I I
always say the same but like in terms of
um all the big names like Paul Rand and
soul bass all the people that sort of
were graphic designers working for the
industry but had that little bit of
um they had something else that you know
they they could function as artist in
the same time as they could function for
an industry and I did find that
extremely interesting that um everybody
has to pay the rent but if you can do
that and still have a bit of your
essence into it then you also paint
pictures on billboards which is better
than just seller products um
and otherwise Tommy angerer and S and a
lot of people that were very good in my
opinion at dividing between commercial
and personal and sort of try to document
uh the world they were living in at the
time someone like Tommy andar did some
children's book He did a lot of amazing
political posters um at the time of the
Vietnam Wars or or other eras like the
Nixon era and he did some very intense p
pornographic drawing at the same time so
it was like playing in many different
fields but somehow it created a a
coherent body of work and that's
something that I was like this is cool
this this is good this is not to have
the freedom to break out of the pth that
you feel like you're being given I mean
how much how difficult is it to kind of
keep those things separate and make sure
that you're working on kind of personal
work and you have your personal practice
and at the same time doing the yeah
maybe slightly more commercial things
that as you say kind of pay the rent um
I mean you always have to pay the rent
so that's the one thing that you've got
to make sure you do otherwise like I
don't know just I try to play it by
Instinct a lot you know when I get sent
to commission
commercially I try to see if it's
something that I agree with uh on a
personal ethical point of view more and
more now that I've got the the luxury to
be able to do that and and the rest of
the time I keep producing for myself and
and and work that try to say something
that I want to say uh so it's it's
always a fair balance you know between
commercial and gallery work or between
Sketchbook and and social media MH yeah
um in that statement you kind of talk
about making people laugh and think
which I guess is is Yeah just something
your work has always managed to do right
from the beginning um to look at
laughter first I mean how important is
humor in your work and I guess what role
do you feel like humor plays like what
are you trying to do when you're putting
a joke into your work I I'm not trying
very hard to be funny because I don't
think I know how to be but um I think
same as everyone the news is terrible
it's been consistently terrible for a
while is I don't think it's getting
worse it's just like we're getting more
news um and I guess through drawing my
reaction was to try to find something
that bugs me and to try to twist it
reverse it and sometime it was funny
sometime it was maybe witty um but it
was it was more of a sort of Defense
mechanism that's the way I try to see it
now like with a bit of of
distance um and and it's going to sound
really Co but it's the same with
painting you know the more I've got
negative things on on my mind I try to
find beauty or to find humor and it's
more of a desperate attempt at
countering the negative and is that what
you mean by it Tak different forms yeah
is that what you mean by defense
mechanism kind of trying to I guess find
a positive in in negative thoughts yeah
I think I mean that's that's the sort of
something that I'm I'm trying
to um formulate in in in the next year
through a series of shows but like it's
it's akin to escapism when reality
becomes extremely dire we all have
different ways of coping with it some
people play video games some will see
their friends some will write a diary
some will do a video um and for me for a
long time my mechanism was to try to do
daily cartoons about it then it was to
do landscape paintings about beauty and
now I'm trying to formulate other things
in that direction that sounds
interesting can't wait to see that um I
mean I guess the last time we spoke was
during the pandemic and that was
definitely a time when you were really
doing that you know finding the kind of
slightly Bleak but also funny sides of
things that were happening in your
everyday life at that time right yeah
but it's um it's good for inspiration
it's like you know whenever you have a
wall in front of you you have to find a
way to climb over it so it's of lend
itself well to creativity you have to
scratch your head to find how you're
going to climb over it and then five
different people are going to have five
different ways to deal with that wall
and during covid I think that's we all
had this wall of covid and then you saw
millions and millions of different ways
to deal with that wall and that was
terrible terrible time socially but for
a lot of people quite an interesting
time creatively and we saw a lot of
people um I think it's the same in
England but in France like you you hear
a lot of new artists comedians musicians
graphic artists painters and a lot of
them say oh yeah was during covid that
you know I had nothing to do but to try
to entertain myself so I came up with
this or this so there was negative and
there was positive response to it yeah
definitely um I guess on the think side
of things of that that statement your
your work kind of often uses this like
subtle Twist of meaning or there's a a
kind of witty reveal I guess to get
people thinking um I'm intrigued about
like what the mental state is like that
you have to get into to to find those
little moments of of wit and and humor
um is there a particular head space that
you have to be in to be that kind of to
find those little funny moments um no
it's like my my work process would have
been based on observation like I was
saying I would see a situation or
experience a situation then try to
reflect on it creatively same as you
find this glass and try to find a
different use for it it's like you have
a situation you turn that into a
question you try to find a good answer
and um for the the the wheat the wit
sorry French accent but um a lot of the
time I try to approach the image making
or the comedy making the same way I
always do um in graphic design how you
would do advertising you need to capture
the attention of the viewer with a
graphic a situation and then once you
had that that um attention grabbed you
would
be able to inate a second more subtle
level of of of meaning or reading and
sometime it's through comedy sometime
it's through graphic Pond it varies okay
so that graphic design background
definitely coming in a lot there um I
guess in recent years you've been doing
a lot more painting and yeah I mentioned
it in the introduction these like
beautiful colorful landscapes of kind of
natural landscapes um and you've been
showing your work all around the world I
guess what's made you want to move in
this direction and do more of that work
cuz it feels like there's you're you're
doing more of that than than ever before
unless that's just my perception no it's
like it's a weird it's it's not like
painting as opposed to um it's not a
divorce from drawing but it it all it's
quite organic like when I was in London
I was in London for 13 years and I was
doing a lot of social media and I I
didn't have a family and I was going out
a lot had a lot of freedom and and then
certain things happened that
maybe affected my um my mental health a
little bit through social media and then
I I had a kid and a lot of things
coincided and I just it lends itself to
taking a step back from a fast-paced way
of living and creating and try to
reflect on other happier things slower
things um I wanted to be available
mentally for my kid and my family and I
discovered surfing at the same time and
you know it's just sort of like planets
aligning in a weird way and and and you
just decide to to follow that but I was
always drawing in my Sketchbook and and
and still coming up with ideas based on
situations but so for a long time it
seemed like a divorce drawing and it was
used I was used to a certain way of
interacting with social media and then
when I started doing painting like I
could see that I was losing a lot of my
audience and they was like oh do I
you know should I continue and and and
try to should I get back into it to
please the people that have been
supporting me or should I try to follow
what makes me feel good and what makes
me happy so I did that and and through a
few years of doing that I've been lucky
enough to to go through Galleries and
then be off nice exhibition spaces and
there I could bring back the drawing in
a different way not through like hyper
di comedy but more through bringing a
bit of my sketchbooks on the wall
actually that's very good timing but um
yeah there you you had like those
paintings we talking it was for a show
at the Museum of Contemporary Arts in in
Leon in France this was talking about
tourism and the paintings were showing
different sets of Tourism and then
through the walls I was playing with the
idea and like rambling on a more comedy
way about it and and now I've got this I
feel like I've got this graphic language
that I'm using for bigger shows like
Museum shows where I can I just finished
a show in Belgium at the Mima Museum
which was school studiolo and the idea
was like I'm talking too much but I feel
like I want to talk about that now
people are here for you I think you can
talk you can talk as much as you want so
so last year in in 2022 had a
retrospective show in in PH which sounds
a bit ridiculous um but uh it it was
quite interesting because I it was going
through my first sketches in my
Sketchbook to all of the St Martin's
years the RCA the first commercial work
um and to the sculptures and the
paintings that I do now so it was like
like looking back it was called then
there and then um I did a show at the
Mima Museum in s in in brussles sorry
last year called studiolo which was
trying to see like where am I now I've
seen where I was and how I got there now
I'm here I'm like I'm 40 I've got a kid
I'm very worried about this and uh you
know and everything seems to be dripping
and um was like you know let's let's use
this Museum as a studi which used to be
like this little um cabinet of curiosity
where you would surround yourself with
art and and and things that you liked in
order to reflect on certain matters so
was that I talked about childhood about
environment ecology anxiety all of that
stuff through paintings and a lot of
drawings and rambling on the walls and
and it felt good and you had this sort
of like dungeon Ascension through the
museum where you would start with like
black and white Sketchbook drawings very
um non realistic and then going into
childhood portrays the individual the
individuals in society etc etc to finish
at the top in this big mural which I
think we've got somewhere there um which
was just painting a 13 M long Fresco
about the world and it was a reflection
on how the collective is made of
individual stories and I just presented
my individual take and this was joining
onto the collective which is like a
theme that I've always been quite
interested in and and I've I feel like
I've treated in many different Endeavors
and next year I have a big show um that
I think is going to be about escapism
like trying to talk about the collective
and how from that Collective we we
really really have this inner desire to
make Society that's what makes us human
and and that's what makes all the good
stuff but equally it's extremely
challenging it's very
uh anxiety given and and and we all find
as as I was saying earlier we all find
ways to deal with that um through like
I'm exploring like role playing games
video games Social Circles of
discussions politics and all of that
stuff um that sounds very messy I'm
sorry I'll I'll I'll make that clear
next year but um that's where I'm at no
it's amazing I mean I wanted to actually
talk about that um this kind of 13 meter
circular room that you that you painted
um this mural yeah depicting the kind of
History of the World in a as you
described it very subjective and
inaccurate way um it disappeared after
the show and I think I just wanted to
ask like what's it like I guess knowing
that something you've made you know you
said it was one of your favorite pieces
you've ever made and knowing that it's
either going to be painted over or
dismantled at the end of a show what's
it like to I guess have something that
you're that proud of that you're
eventually going to say goodbye to well
we had the discussion prior to it when
we were building the show and I was like
it's fine you know it's for the out it's
it's fine and then when it got destroyed
I
cried yeah but but like without without
being as Pumpers as that it it's it's
nice to be able to do stuff like that
it's
um again like in a very digital age
where uh everything is accessible and
that's fantastic but it's also nice to
keep some stuff that you you had to be
there to experience it um and I have
this more and more I'm proposing when I
do shows this fmr um installation the
next all the next shows that I'm doing
have sculptures and and and paintings
and an installation that's going to be
disappeared or painted over after and I
always have this the people that I work
with being like that's just really dumb
and I'm like yeah but I get something
from just doing it like I do my
Sketchbook you know they're not meant to
be shown it's it's just for the pleasure
of doing it and
through also I've always I I was talking
about um the work evolving in an organic
way but it's like it's Serendipity you
know it's just you you unravel some
something and then you you you let it
carry on freely and it takes you
somewhere and when I do work this way I
don't prepare for it I just have this
sort of like graphic and verbal diarrhea
and um and then you look at the the
result on the wall and some stuff is
terrible some stuff is interesting and I
reuse the result of that to to go
further in my practice one way or
another I mean you you've talked about
your sketchbooks a couple of times and I
wanted to touch on this because some of
your my favorite that you've done have
been you know from sketchbooks and
actually there's there's something
really nice about the fact that you've
done them very obviously very quickly
and um I guess there's a sort of Freedom
there and a lack of inhibition how
much but how much is there like a a
perfectionism in you that wants to make
everything perfect versus that desire
for freedom to just express yourself and
as you said kind of let it run because
some of those things end up being kind
of a bit imperfect in ways that are
really they are Charming very imperfect
but uh um that's something that I keep
from St Martin or from the time of being
a student actually just finding having
the the need to fail to have a space
where you can fail consistently and when
you fail it's not failing it's just
trial and errors and the sketchbooks
always been that and when I was studying
at St Martin or or the RCA we were
encouraged to to do that to it was a
non-commercial space so you know the the
implication of the failure not economic
it was just like oh you know you missed
that EX exercise you'll do better next
time and that's just so important and
also when you don't worry about the
results again s DPT helped and and and
you'll eventually find it will create
accidents that you'll look back and be
like oh this is cool this is not cool
this is cool
yeah that somehow doesn't illustrate
that how hard have you found that I mean
you talk about it being you know kind of
drilled into you as a student and I
think you know lot people will find that
that atmosphere that's very kind of
welcoming to that kind of failure is is
what happens at University but how hard
is it as a practicing artist with a big
following to maintain that level of
experimentation and not not be too
afraid of the audience or critique I'm
terrified of the audience right uh no I
really am actually that's why like
social media give me so much anxiety
that I I I approach it differently now
like I I I've taken a step back and I
like to think of
the output that I the work that I do as
um I really like the way musicians do it
a musical carrier when you you put out
albums you know when you're you're
cooking in the dark for months and then
you put out something like a show an
album and then you you advertise it you
show the ropes of it and all of that and
then you you take a step back out and
and you do that I can't remember what
your question
was neither can I that's
um I'd love to discuss a bit more I mean
you've talked about a couple of kind of
recent projects um last year you had a
project at the jand plant uh in which is
where you were kind of Born and Raised
what was it like going back to your kind
of childhood home and making this
amazing project that was yeah took over
a kind of entire Garden there yeah we
did that for three years which was
amazing cuz it's a garden that I used to
walk through when I was a kid um and it
was sort of the first time i' been not
has actually been giving me my twice my
my biggest projects like the first one
was Len and this and the j plant was
another one where it was amazing
cuz it was the first time I was being
paid to do a public art commission where
I could do whatever I wanted and for
that I wanted to revisit um the little
paper characters that I was doing at St
Martin's before I I was sort of like
doing illustration and when I wasn't
confident enough with my line I was just
sort of experimenting with paper
characters and cutting them out
photographing them and these little
paper sculptures then I would put black
lines and this became illustration but I
wanted to take that out and challenge
the um the perception of the audience
and because I was supported by all the
teams of the gardens and the makers that
they had it it was awesome amazing and
it's still on now so like we we did
three years and after the three years
some of them left and we've kept three
one is in the garden is on the the roof
of the Town Hall it's sort of like
pulling plants all over the town hall
and another one is is sort of rolling
rolls of tarmac to reveal plants and the
knes but I'm super happy with that it's
really nice so the one in the middle of
the lake spitting the water up that
one's gone is it yeah we it's actually
very difficult to find new homes for
these things they're big they're very
specific to that place yeah exactly um
we're going to have some audience
questions now because I know um yeah we
had so many great ones uh submitted so
I'm going to go through these ones um
and there's about six of them but the
first one is from Joanna um are you able
to keep your graphic diary still as a
kind of no pressure fun thing or does it
kind of now feel part of part of your
job part of your no no it's definitely a
no pressure thing but it's its content
has changed a lot when we did the show
in SE um we exhibited 20 years of of
sketchbooks and um looking back at the
beginning I was noting down like writing
down every single word that everybody
around me was saying so I had to like
find like one page out of a 100 that was
show that I could show because the rest
was like my brother's filthy mouth and
uh and then progressively a lot of like
Student Life went into it and then first
ideas for projects then using them for
painting experimentations and then when
I started having kids had less time
obviously cuz I would have been pretty
shitty dad otherwise um but now now it's
a mix now when when I travel I can like
do a lot into it but I always try to
keep it as a space of experimentation
for projects and every now and again
doing live drawings but it's something
that I want to keep forever it's just
life gets in the way yeah amazing um the
second question is from Elena how do you
get from what you see in reality to the
stylized version of your work so what's
that process of as you said earlier kind
of seeing something like the the glass
on the table to then the very stylized
version that we might see at the end of
the process um if I was pompus I would
say it's synthetic but um no it's just
I've got I've got very uh limited
drawing skills and um it's very true I'm
not and so from an early early age I was
like I'm I I can't Shadow I can't do
body mass I can't do perspective and all
that stuff so I'll I'll I'll keep it to
a minimum and I'll try to develop a
visual alphabet with that minimum that
is not strong enough but that I'm
comfortable enough with to articulate
the ideas that I want to say um and you
don't need you don't need much I think
like in
general Graphics is about synthesizing
the world into different elements and
that automatically creates an alphabet
that you reuse throughout your work and
mine happens to be with bold colors and
a simple black line so it it's I think
the Simplicity of it and and the fact
that it doesn't evolve um my friend
gwend doc really great illustrator but
he's looking at my work like wow your
your work has not evolved in 20 years
amazing and and I was
like I was so sad but uh you know like
that's what makes it a style it's just a
lack of
progression that's a bit of an egg isn't
it um a question here from Indigo uh do
you have any tips on staying motivated
so what are the the tricks and tips over
the years that you found to keep
yourself inspired and keep yourself
motivated I think it's a it's um a
healthy balance between the commercial
and the personal and when you when I
feel demotivated on a personal level um
like you know when I feel like I'm not
finding the ideas that I want to find
and then I've got a commercial project
that makes me I have to do it because I
have to pay the rent and and when you
have a commercial project and you um you
get given a brief it's simple you have
to come up with an answer it's like uh
going to the gym you know you you do the
exercise and through doing the exercise
stuff happens and you you you get the
pump back and and then you get back into
your personal space and you use that
energy to try to uh come up with ideas
and sometime it doesn't work but it's a
nice idea I understood everything apart
from the bit about the gym but yeah uh
George asks what was the process for
Designing and Publishing your first
coffee table book um I work with my
friend aan lucier she's a really good
designer as well and uh we had done a
book before for um nanzuka g in Japan
where I really liked his his process and
he always tried to approach book making
in a specific way so for the book at
nanzuka was like a a Sketchbook and for
um the fight and coffee table book he
wanted he wanted it to be a
story um originally was meant to be like
a proper story book but it sort of
slowly evolved into to the narrative
that I was mentioning before where you
go from a very personal am I did you put
the sound up from a very personal point
of view to then close friends and family
to then a wider audience and uh so we we
we work like that then first you had the
sketchbooks and the paintings where I
was um talking to my parents and then
the collaboration with people like K
Studio that I've worked with and and
then the more public art and things like
that um finally a question from Marian
so there's a group of friends from non
in the
audience Y how has your work evolved
since Len Len I'm not sure Len yeah you
might have to describe what that is as
well Len was like uh I was still at Thea
when I got given the amazing commission
it was um at the top of um the biggest
building in not and it was to design um
a space that would be as much an
artpiece as a public space and so I I
was a student so I decided to do a bar
and um the idea was to have um a giant
bird was like 41 M long going all around
the the inside of the building
and and then the bar would be inside the
bird you would sit on his neck or on his
head he had like animated eyes that soon
became broken but that was meant to
close and open and then all the seats
and tables were eggs I got to design
posters on on every every you know big
part of the city that I liked it was
like a sort of all-encompassing project
and the stuff that I've taken from that
is
that the the multiplicity of mediums and
to try to create one cent coherent
narrative with different languages it's
something that I've always enjoyed and I
tried to keep doing with like sculpture
product design um painting drawings
everything amazing we're nearly out of
time but one final question for for me
is just um we were talking earlier about
the number of things you've got coming
up this year and um it'd be great to
just hear what what you have got lined
up because um yeah we kind of all want
to know where we can see your work this
year um so I'm currently working on a
project in Paris which is like my first
big project in Paris called um it will
be at the B Mar which is like a really
old department store and we're doing two
giants it's it's something about the
books and in the window displays I'm
creating a a story like a like a story
book by an installation so every window
will show a different chapter of the
story and then uh at the top we have um
a cafe um where you'll step into a
library um but yeah you should see that
and then in in March I've got a show in
New York which will be half installation
half paintings and then working on a on
a TV show about my parents as well an
animated TV show and then I'm working on
that show about escapism um next year um
some other bits but yeah so just a chill
just a chill 2024 for you amazing um
listen we are out of time I'm afraid but
everyone massive massive Round of
Applause for
julan
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