Artist of the Week

Janina Frye

January 28, 2025

Janina Frye (b. 1987, Germany) is a visual artist based in Amsterdam and Mexico City. Her sculptures and installations explore the human body as a transformative system of connections and entanglements, challenging the binary logic of human/object, animate/inanimate, and nature/culture. Examining the human skin as an interface rather than a boundary, her work incorporates material and immaterial elements to investigate processes of alienation, fictions, and emergent phenomena that influence bodily perception. Janina holds an MA in Sculpture from the Royal College of Art, London, and a BA from AKV St. Joost, the Netherlands. She has exhibited internationally, with notable presentations at P/////AKT (Amsterdam, 2018), South London Gallery (London, 2021), ACRE (Berlin, 2023), and Galleria Fran Reus (Palma, 2024).

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

I’m a visual artist originally from Germany, now based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Recently, I’ve also begun living and working part-time in Mexico City, where my partner is from. I completed my BA in the Netherlands and then went on to do an MA in Sculpture in London. In my practice, I explore the idea of “entangled realities”—looking at the complex, often hidden connections within personal, social, and material worlds. My work is rooted in both my personal experiences and the broader cultural and environmental landscapes I observe around me. Within this framework, my work explores the boundaries between human and non human entities, the living and the non-living, and the concepts of belonging and alienation. These themes are often embodied through the materials I choose, creating a space where the familiar and unfamiliar overlap and evoke deeper questions about presence and absence. Through these layered connections, I aim to reveal something about the complexities of identity, place, and memory.

Creeping process I&II, 2021
, ceramic, cotton straps, buckles
, 108x70x60cm; 109x71x54cm

What are some recent, upcoming, or current projects you are working on?

I’m working at the moment on three upcoming exhibitions I will have in 2025. The first one will be in February 2025, I’ll be part of a group exhibition at Gallery Guadalajara 90210 in Mexico City during Zona Maco, which will be my first show in Mexico. I’ll be producing the work entirely in Mexico, which excites and also challenges me—it’s a chance to engage with new materials, local crafts, and different ways of working. The unfamiliar environment and structure bring fresh challenges and inspire new approaches, making it a significant step in my career. The others are a group show in Italy at KORA Contemporary Arts Center in Castrignano dei Greci and a Duo show at Park in Tilburg, The Netherlands, later next year. I’m excited that my work has gained more international recognition over the last years. It is interesting to see how my works make connections with various cultural contexts.

Nourishing Ghosts, 2023
, Pneumatic installation: Latex sheet, vacuum pump, vacuum controllers, hoses, gum tape, found objects, metal, ceramic
, 4x300x85cm

What is one of the bigger challenges you and/or other artists are struggling with these days, and how do you see it developing?

Personally, I find myself grappling with self-doubt and questioning the relevance of my perspective as an artist. As a German woman, I am acutely aware of the privilege embedded in my background. Although I come from a working-class family, the challenges I’ve encountered are different from those faced by many others around the world. This awareness often leads me to question what my work can genuinely contribute to broader cultural conversations, and whether my perspective offers something meaningful or necessary. I’m also increasingly aware of the contradictions of being an artist within a capitalist framework. With each new work, I question my material choices, the environmental impact of creating and transporting pieces, and the value of adding more objects and images to a world already saturated with them. Additionally, I’ve always had a strong desire to belong, yet I remain uncertain about where, or even if, I want to fit into the art world. While I deeply believe in art’s potential to challenge, inspire, and offer cultural insights, I also see how deeply entwined it is with power structures, the investment market, and the mechanisms of contemporary capitalism. This entanglement complicates my sense of purpose and place as an artist today.

How do you see your work evolving in parallel to things that are going on around you right now?

I don’t draw directly from current events in my work, but I think the emotions and atmospheres they create—the instability, anxiety, tension, and even the desire to escape harsh realities—naturally filter in. There’s a collective undercurrent of unease in the world right now, and though I don’t experience the most intense inequalities or traumas directly, I feel their presence, and they influence the emotional tone of my work.

I think my work often speaks to the structures that shape us—social, material, and emotional structures that organize our lives in sometimes invisible ways. My research is more focused on understanding these underlying frameworks and how they influence our bodies and minds than on addressing specific current events. In a way, I’m exploring the forces that create the conditions for these events. This includes examining the materials and forms we interact with daily, which carry both historical and emotional weight.

Exhibition overview LOOPING, 2022

Is there any source material you find extremely important?

An important source material in my practice is the human body. I’m fascinated by how emotions manifest as physical sensations—such as the tension of the skin and muscles, numbness, blushing, or changes in breathing patterns. These responses often stem from emotional shifts, memories from the past, or anticipations of the future. I am particularly intrigued by the interplay between the intangible and the physical: how a feeling, thought, idea, or emotion becomes embodied and materialized. This transformation doesn’t stop with the body—it extends outward, influencing our surroundings, shaping our decisions, and contributing to the material organization of our surroundings.

What materials do you use in your work and what is your conceptualization process like?

I work with a wide range of materials, bringing together elements from diverse contexts—traditional art, industrial production, found and used objects, fashion, BDSM, and the medical field. By drawing these materials out of their original settings, I’m interested in exploring how they interact and I aim for establishing a network of associations that allow for new, anonymous entities to emerge. This process transforms materials that usually signify utility, desire, or health into complex, layered forms that suggest their own narratives. One material I use frequently is latex sheet, which I often stretch and encase around metal structures and other components. Latex has a unique organic quality that pairs well with the pneumatic systems I build into my installations. By using vacuum pumps, I circulate air in and out, creating a slow, breathing motion within the piece. The materiality of latex combined with air gives the work a presence that feels both alive and slightly alien. Air and light are also significant in my work, acting as symbols of invisible yet essential forces. For me, they represent the unseen connections between things, adding a sense of intangibility and mystery to each installation.

W02, 2024, White thermoformed polystyrene, with UV-print, illustration of RMET (reading the mind in the eyes test), AI generated illustration of a rodent, wood beads, cotton robes, 100x60cm

Have you had any dreams that stuck out to you lately, and if so, would you be willing to share?

I usually dream a lot and very vividly. Dreams can hold symbolic significance, and one dream in particular became central to my last solo show, Mechanisms of Blushing. In that dream, a rodent appeared as a symbol of an intangible force—something unseen or elusive—that becomes physical. This concept resonated deeply with the themes I was exploring in the exhibition, so I worked with the rodent as a motif. It appeared in various forms throughout the show: in a written essay, as an AI-generated creature on UV prints, and hidden behind latex within the installation itself. The rodent became a metaphor for how certain invisible forces, like emotions or memories, manifest in tangible ways.

W01, 2024
, White thermoformed polystyrene, with UV-print, illustration of the muscles in the face generated AI generated illustration of a rodent, wood beads, cotton robes, 100x60cm

Do you ever look back on your older work in order to inform your future?

Yes, I often look back on my older work. I find it interesting how, over time, my pieces seem to form an intrinsic network, connecting in unexpected ways. Recently, someone shared a piece I created in 2018 on social media, that I hadn’t thought about in a while. Seeing it again surprised me and led me to reflect on connections between my work from that time and what I’m creating now.

Back then, I was working with the concept of prosthetics and other medical aids as symbols of the entanglement between the human body and the physical world. I was particularly interested in how technology created a seamless connection between the body and its environment. Now, my focus has shifted toward exploring the relationship between the body and its surroundings on a more sensory level. I’m increasingly interested in how bodily sensations both influence and respond to the physical environment. For example, the installation I’m currently developing for the show in Mexico City next year. This piece will explore the interplay of bodily sensations and physical materials. My research now delves into how emotions alter breathing patterns or how tension in our skin and muscles mirrors the spaces around us. These sensations often manifest externally, shaping how we perceive our environment. Fences, for instance, are meant to provide protection, yet their presence can also evoke unease. This dynamic between internal sensation and external structures is something I’m excited to explore further. Additionally, I incorporate found and used objects, which bring a sense of history and personality into the work. These items carry their own stories, which blend with the new context to give the installation a unique character.

Chimera 1, 2022
, Pneumatic installation: Latex sheet, reinforcement steel, plaster, epoxy clay, nonhuman-animal bones, strings, hoses, gum tape, cotton straps, plastic buckles, stainless steal bowls, humidifier, vacuum compressor, vacuum controller
, 40x350x20cm

What are you really excited about right now?

Having recently arrived in Mexico City with my partner, I feel like I’m at a major turning point in my life. The city excites me on so many levels; every day brings new sights and experiences, even though I’ve been here several times before. This time, though, I’m here not as a visitor but with the intent to live and work. I’m especially excited to start creating new work here and to dive into a residency in the Yucatan peninsula next year, where I’ll be researching the origins of latex—a material I frequently use in my art. Latex has a fascinating history in this region; the Olmecs were the first to discover and use natural rubber, which is the main component of latex. Being here, close to the cultural and historical roots of this material, feels like it will open up new layers for my practice.

 

Interview conducted and edited by Liam Owings