INTERVIEW
Open Secrets: Jessica Backhaus on the Allure of Abstraction
The Berlin-based artist also discusses her formative friendship with Gisèle Freund, the freedom of the Bauhaus, and preparing to lead Palm Tree Workshops’ first Athens-based program.
Amazingly, 2024 will soon be drawing to a close. What are some of the highlights for you from this past year creatively, whether related to your own work or that of others?
So far, 2024 has been a very good year for me. The highlight was my exhibition “Nous irons jusqu’au soleil” at the Centre de la Photographie in Mougins in the South of France this spring. This exhibition has meant a lot to me. Thirty-five years earlier, I lived for a year in Sophia Antipolis, just around the corner from Mougins, and completed my baccalaureate. Little did I know then that one day I would come back and have the opportunity to show my photographs.
Otherwise, I am excited about the release of my new book, Plein Soleil, published by Kehrer Verlag this autumn. This new series was born out of my longing for color and my love for paper and light. For me, it is this mixture of light and dark and the interplay of different colors and shapes that give life to these works. Colors are essential in my work, regardless of whether I am working in abstraction or figuration.
Another highlight was the collaboration with the French publisher editions dumas.salchli. This summer, they published my zine Indications of the sea as a limited edition. This zine includes works shot only in black and white, and showing unspectacular moments, details, and situations near the sea.
I also am truly looking forward to a presentation of works from Plein Soleil at the Robert Morat Galerie at Paris Photo this November at the Grand Palais.
Your workshop is titled “Daring Abstraction,” which suggests both untapped potential and a challenge to engage in a non-linear way. What appeals to you about working abstractly?
During the last eight years, I have been more and more drawn towards abstraction. I believe abstraction offers a space to imagine, feel and dream. When you take things away, it’s quite daring. You think the frame is empty and there is nothing there. But actually, it has everything you need. Abstraction gives you the freedom to make your very own interpretations of things and situations. Working abstractly is quite complex and multilayered as you explore a world that you create with your own imagination. In this process, you also have to trust your intuition and follow your instincts rather than looking for a reason. Experimentation also plays a vivid part in daring abstraction.
An essay in your 2005 book Jesus and the Cherries, an idiosyncratic portrait of the Polish village of Netno and its residents, references your “unusual color language.” How has that language evolved over the years?
Colors have always been very important to me—not only within my artwork but also in my everyday life. They are like emotions and make you react. Each one of us has our own color palette, and we are drawn to certain colors, as they can uplift us, comfort us, and inspire us. I think my color language has evolved in the sense that over the years,I have been using more strong and vivid colors. I also pay more close attention to the dialogue that colors have together. When working on a book publication, there are many details that you have to take into consideration. And precisely during that particular process, I think of all the details and how color can play an essential part in the book design. Over the years, I have also integrated more colored walls in my exhibitions, trying to create a stimulating experience for the viewer.
Mentorship can have a profound impact on an artist. In your case, you had the good fortune of being mentored by Gisèle Freund, a sociologist, historian, photographer, and all-around powerhouse. What are some of her insights that remain with you today?
The friendship I had with Gisèle Freund was a beautiful gift in my life. I remember very well some of our conversations and talks. What inspired me most was her courage and her curiosity. She was a very brave and intelligent woman who never hesitated to dare and take chances. Her curiosity was remarkable, and she always kept an open mind. One piece of advice in particular always remains within me: “Follow your heart and don’t make too many compromises.” She also insisted that one has to be educated, to go to the museums and theaters, to read as many books as possible, and to engage in the world.
You’re leading the first-ever Athens-based workshop for Palm Tree Workshops, having previously taught at the Santorini residence. How do you plan to use this new setting in your teachings?
Leading a workshop in Athens will be a premiere for me as well, as I intend to create a different kind of workshop—I want to take chances myself and encourage the participants to leave their comfort zone. The workshop will be a playground for experimentations, expressing yourself through abstraction and following your intuition while allowing for new ways of thinking. We will try to broach a subject, a project with new forms of expression, and try to create a body of work that will be completely new to us. Since I was a child, I have been fond of Greece. I am very much looking forward to working in Athens and being inspired by this vibrant and ancient capital.
If you could travel back in time to a different era in art history, which would you choose, and why?
I believe I would choose the era of the Bauhaus movement, which was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933. The Bauhaus was founded by the architect Walter Gropius in Weimar. It was grounded in the idea of creating a comprehensive artwork in which all the arts would eventually be brought together. The Bauhaus movement has circled such a wide range of mediums and disciplines. I can even see today why Bau- haus had such a huge impact and such a big influence on so many previous generations and on various fields. It was conceived as a Denkfabrik, a kind of place where you could freely think, explore, and try things out. Ein “Probierplatz” as Walter Gropius said. This kind of open mind and this particular freedom in creating attracts and appeals to me tremendously.