Janaina Tschape

All this happens in Tschäpe’s work. Synthetic materials and natural settings, oneiric sequences and factual occurrences,
painterly deployments of space and kinetic use of compositional elements—these are the antithetical lines that twirl, in her work, into
complicated braids of meaning and action, and ultimately coalesce into densely operatic images
Gean Moreno, 2004
Born in Germany Janaina Tschape currently works between Brazil and New York. Her work has an international language with a wide appeal. Recognized for her baroque sensibilities, Janaina is known for transforming the female body in a variety of ways. She takes a human model and extends their body with fin and tentacle like fabric, bulbous condoms and a myriad of other extensions that tie the body to nature while divorcing it from reality. To combat the ephemeral nature of her work her shows include High Definition video projection, a digital video on wall-mounted plasma screen,Cibachrome photographs, watercolor drawings, lithography and photogravure. Though some of her work is quite serious there is a tongue in cheek feeling to other pieces: her Naiad series was shot in Weeki Wachee Springs, Florida, home of the fabulously campy Weeki Wachee Mermaids.