Do Insects Play?

‘Do Insects Play?’ is an insight into French artist Johanna Tagada’s playful and mindful practice, one that is frequently informed by the environment in which she finds herself. The artworks contained in this book are a curated selection of soft and vibrant collages from the ongoing series Cocooning – composed of various found papers, paintings and textiles, along pieces from To End is to Start, a new body of works created out of repurposed cotton fibres and water. The pieces have all been produced during a 2018 – 19 residency in South India where Johanna Tagada deepened her knowledge and practice of hand papermaking. A short story by the artist is presented alongside the artworks, appearing as a gentle melody dancing throughout the pages.

Johanna Tagada (b.1990, Strasbourg, France) is a painter and interdisciplinary artist working across London (UK), rural Alsace (France) and rural Tamil Nadu (India). Her practice composed of painting, drawing, installation, sculpture, film, photography and writing often conceals ecological messages, rendered in soft and delicate methods. In several of the artist’s projects interaction with the environment and others plays a central role. Solo exhibitions include Épistolaire Imaginaire – Merci at Galerie Jean-Francois Kaiser, and Take Care – ?????at Nidi Gallery. In 2014, Johanna founded the positive and collaborative cultural project Poetic Pastel. In 2018, the artist cofounded the publication series Journal du Thé – Contemporary Tea Culture.

The Coup de Crayon collection presents the personal work of artists practising painting, drawing or collage. For 2019, Coup de Crayon invited Iris de Moüy, Nathalie du Pasquier and Johanna Tagada to imagine a series as a book.