10 Questions with JoKu

JoKu is a self-taught artist who was born in Switzerland in 1988. Attentive people around her have always seen her creativity, even though she intended to hold it back and aimed for a reasonable working life in the office. However, in 2019 she quit her job, left her hometown and moved to Mallorca, where she gradually started creating. A process was born that is still going on. In summer 2025, she started a new chapter in Paraguay, where she now lives and works.

It must be due to her nostalgic heart that she has always been using supposedly useless, broken or discarded materials and items to make her creatures. The imaginative beings she creates are reminiscent of characters from fairy tales and diverse in their material, aura and history, but each with a vivid and playful touch.

Her art invites viewers to drift off into a fairy-tale world and to slip into the role of a detective, making out the reused materials and objects she utilised to give her creatures their inimitable look. At the same time, she encourages viewers to reflect on their own consumer behaviour and its impact on today's values as well as on economic and social development.

ARTIST STATEMENT

In an indescribable way, they tell her what they want to look like and what aura they want to spread into the world. In general, when starting a new project, she does not have a clue what the creature will look like at the end. The vision rises slowly while working and often changes during the process. One of the biggest challenges for her is to stay open-minded and flexible during the process. This is the only way to respect their will and to catch their aura.

She is inspired by supposedly useless, broken or discarded materials and items from everyday life or things she gets secondhand. When talking about materials, the sky is the limit. Glass, metal, plastic, cloth, they are all welcome! Discovering the peculiarity of a specific material and finding out how to handle it best builds part of the process.

At the end, there is an imaginative being that is both different from you and yet somehow familiar. There is no geometric perfection; there are extremities missing, and most of them do not even have a mouth. Why? Because imperfection is human, because the nonexistence of something allows us to grow and because the world needs more action and less speaking.

Her goal is to encourage people to change their perspective, to inspire them to awaken their own creativity and to make them see that much can be done with very little. It is not about saving the planet, it is about making the most of what you have and about giving supposedly useless, broken or discarded materials and items a new life in a world of thoughtless consumption. It is about remembering the resources that were put into producing an item. It is about remembering the story an item epitomises. It is about remembering the lovely thoughts someone had when giving us an item as a present. It is about remembering former values beyond show and shine!

Creature in progress, Mixed media, 2025 © JoKu

INTERVIEW

Let's start from the beginning. What inspired you to leave your office job and pursue art full-time?

This was a longer process that got started on a specific evening I remember very well. At that time, I was working 80% and completing the first semester of a bachelor's degree in economics. It was on a Tuesday when I had classes until after 8 p.m. and then caught the train back home. People with dementia sometimes experience so-called "lucid moments "in which they regain their consciousness for an instant and get back full possession of their mental faculties. I like to compare what happened to me on the train that evening to such a lucid interval. At first, I was completely absorbed in my to-do list (quickly sending a few business emails and then getting back to school homework with the aim to use the time on the train as efficiently as possible) until I looked up and scanned my surroundings. For a few seconds, it was completely silent, and I experienced that moment like in slow motion. I was suddenly wide awake, totally free of thoughts, and fully aware of the here and now. I looked around me and realised that the path I was on hadn't felt right anymore. After that evening, everything happened very quickly. My husband and I had always been talking about emigrating someday, and the moment couldn't have been better to finally realise this plan. Long story short: I dropped out of school, quit my job, and we moved to Mallorca. However, once we arrived on the island, I didn't manage to change my career path overnight. This was a long process. Picasso once said, "All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up." The reasonable adult in me wanted to get back to work quickly, earn money, and follow a path that was largely similar to the one I pursued before. A supposedly safe and predictable path. At the same time, I longed so hard to create something with my hands, something new, something that hadn't existed yet, and that couldn't be copied 1:1. The dreamy child's soul in me wanted to express itself creatively, experiment, and just start realising what was on its mind without having any plan. These two tendencies, which couldn't have been more different, created an inner conflict that needed time to be resolved. At present, it's unimaginable for me to ignore that dreamy child's soul. I can't stop following this strong inner urge anymore to be artistically active.

Alala - In search of the grey middle, Mixed media, 59 x 30 cm, 2024 © JoKu

Has living in Mallorca affected your artistic journey or mindset?

I am originally from Switzerland, a country where people live by very different values than in Spain and, above all, have a completely different focus in life. Spaniards tend to live a more hedonistic lifestyle, which has definitely rubbed off on me and given me a calmer view on everyday life, which helped me to release old beliefs. This, coupled with the physical and psychological distance from my "old life," slowly prepared the ground to my artistic journey. My creativity was no longer just a spark that flared up every now and then, but developed into a raging fire. I had the great privilege of being able to allow myself a time-out and take a good look at my past way, my story and my desires in life, without being constantly influenced by opinions, expectations, or other external factors. Finding out what is personally important to me in my life, what brings long-lasting pleasure in my being, and what I am really passionate about was a long process. Finally accepting the conclusions I gained and really living them was an even longer process. In short, it took me some time to allow myself to pursue art and devote myself to my passion to this extent.
For a few weeks, I have been living in Paraguay, and I am looking forward to experiencing how this new environment will affect my future work as an artist.

Can you walk us through your creative process when starting a new creature?

I usually work on two to four creatures at the same time. I have a treasure chamber where I keep all my materials and collected items. The process usually starts with one of these items manifesting itself in my mind and not letting me go anymore. This item then becomes my muse. At the beginning, I never knew what kind of creature I would end up with, but I always knew exactly what role my muse would play, no matter if it's a head, an eye, or a tail, for example. Together with my muse, I then go through my treasure chamber and collect additional materials and items that might suit the muse. All of these gathered materials and objects then end up on my work table. Normally, the bigger part of these materials and items find their way back to the treasure chamber during the process without being used at all, because in the beginning, the image in my head is blurred and constantly changing.
First, I work on the muse. Since I mainly work with old, broken, and reused items, the first step is to cut the item to the desired size, clean it thoroughly, and sand it. For example, I am currently working on a creature with a gaping mouth that reminds me of the plant called Drosera Afra. I shaped the mouth from a reused vacuum cleaner adapter. To do so, I first had to split the head of the adapter into eight pieces with an angle grinder, sand it, clean it, and then form it into the right shape with the help of heat. Every material has its own characteristics, and it's exciting to discover them and find out how to handle them best. Being a witness to how the original object slowly transforms into something completely new always reminds me of the fairy tale Cinderella, in which the good fairy turns the pumpkin into a beautiful carriage.
The next step is about refining the surface. My creatures come along with a high variety of surface textures. For example, there are parts that are covered with sand or textured paint and therefore have a rather rough surface. I also like to use paste or materials such as styrofoam, pistachio shells, used egg cartons, or crushed shells to create an uneven surface. Ever since I learned how to sew, I have also worked with artificial fur or plush fabrics, which give the creatures a whole new dynamic.
While working on the muse, the image in my head of what the creature might look like in the end slowly becomes clearer. I gradually start recognising colours, the shape of the eyes, or the overall size. Step by step, I prepare the different parts (head, body, feet, hair accessories, eyes, etc.) so that in the end I can put them together like a puzzle. As I said, this image in my head is always just a snapshot and is constantly changing. It's sometimes difficult for me to stay open-minded and flexible and to follow this changing image rather than sticking to a previous idea. However, this flexibility is extremely important in order to respect the creature's will and capture its aura. It sounds strange, but in a way that is difficult to put into words, these creatures communicate with me and tell me what they want to look like and what aura they want to spread into the world. There is always this one moment when the creature takes over the creative reins. Sometimes that moment happens very early, and sometimes it takes longer until they communicate with me.
As soon as all parts are finished, I screw them together. Sometimes I also use glue to attach the heads, I often work with magnets or utilise screw-threads so that they are movable, which brings a little more life into the creature. At the end, there is often something missing. The icing on the cake. Sometimes it takes several days before I know what it is, and sometimes I don't even have that missing something in my treasure chamber, so I first have to build it together from other materials or objects. I also love to stroll through secondhand shops or street markets to find suitable and special items and materials, but that doesn't mean that I never buy anything new.

How do you select the discarded or secondhand items you work with?

I love unusual things such as bra pads, plastic masks and tubes from ventilators, diffusers from broken hair dryers, end caps from curtain rods, etc. When something breaks down at home, I first take it apart to see what treasures I can use for my art. This has a nice side effect, because while taking the broken item apart, the anger of having something broken changes into the joy of winning new materials. My family and friends sometimes also come along with materials, such as broken porcelain bowls, perfume caps, empty glass bottles with a special shape, or discarded fashion jewellery. For me, it is important that the materials and objects I use are of good quality and robust so that they can be easily processed and screwed together. My creatures would love to be alive, just like you and me. Our diversity is an attribute of our vitality. That's why I think it's wonderful when a creature is made of different materials and comes along with different surface textures, because this is what gives the creature a touch of diversity and therefore some vitality.
Also, it is super exciting to work with different materials and figure out how to process them best. I mainly work with reused materials and objects, which means that when the global industry changes its resources, my resources change too.This requires flexibility once again. In my daily life, I come across a lot of different types of plastic in all shapes and sizes. I make sure that plastic parts are not too thin and have a certain degree of break resistance and elasticity. For the platforms, I mostly use old wooden kitchen cutting boards. It is time-consuming to sand them, but they are usually madeof solid wood, on which the legs can be easily screwed. In general, I make sure that the wood is not soft balsa wood(unless it is only for decorative purposes), as this is not very stable. In the future, I would like to work more with broken glass and porcelain. I am currently practising how to drill it without it shattering.

Your creatures often lack mouths or have missing parts. What is the significance of this? And what messages would you like to convey with this choice?

Yes, most of my creatures don't have mouths. However, that's not intentional. For me, these parts are not missing. In the end, I look at my creatures as a whole, and this overall picture is coherent to me because of the absence of an eye, arms, or a mouth. It's about letting go of the logical boundaries and strict rules in our heads that dictate how something should look or be, and opening ourselves up to the unknown.
This brings us to the main topic of my work: the change of perspective. In our world, the absence of something is often interpreted as a deficiency, imperfection, or weakness. However, the absence of something can also be a welcome opportunity for change and growth. Imagine, for example, that you notice a gap in your knowledge or a personal trait that bothers you. It is only thanks to its absence that you have the opportunity to work on yourself and change something. Everything has positive and negative sides. It's on us to decide which of the two sides we give importance to. As I said, my creatures very often lack the mouth, but perhaps we give far too much importance to the mouth or the words that come out of it. Communication also includes the sound of the voice, breathing, and nonverbal signals that manifest themselves through body language, facial expressions, and gestures. The totality of all these characteristics is crucial for perceiving the message of your counterpart in a differentiated way. The same applies to my creatures: only the abundance of different characteristics (material, colours, name, history, etc.) reveals the overall picture.

Eleondora - Different from others but still part of them, Mixed media, 59 x 22 cm, 2022 © JoKu

Marlon - Sweet arrival, Mixed media, 41 x 20 cm, 2024 © JoKu

Do you ever imagine stories or personalities for your creatures?

Yes, always! Once the creature is finished, it is given a name and a little story that fits its character. I get to know the creatures during the process. Some of them are very demanding, proud, and know exactly what they want. Others, on the other hand, constantly change their minds, and the work progresses hardly at all. Their names and stories reveal a lot about their nature and sometimes even something about the materials they are made of. At the same time, the thoughts and feelings I had during the creative process also find their way into the stories.
Let me give you a quick glimpse of two stories. For example, one creature is called Barry, and its title is "Monster from under the bed with an identity crisis." Barry lived under a little boy's bed for a long time and wanted nothing more than to make friends with the little boy, play and laugh with him. However, Barry was far too shy to leave the protective frame of the bed and introduce himself to the boy. He tried several times to crawl out from under the bed, but when doing so, the old bed's frame started making noises, so the boy got scared and screamed for his parents, of whom Barry was even more afraid than of the little boy. For Barry, being a monster was perfectly normal, and he didn't associate it with anything negative. Why should he? However, since the little boy's parents repeatedly emphasised that monsters didn't exist, Barry fell into a deep identity crisis. In the story, I take the monster's perspective. It's about the power of words and how they can turn into destructive beliefs that harm us.
The story of Alala is, as you might see, about the extremes of black and white. The name Alala comes from the Greek mythology, where it was used as a battle cry in war to intimidate the enemy. I chose the name because Alala is very proud and determined. She seems very self-confident and has a sweet, innocent look that gives no hint of her inner struggle. Alala stands between two fronts and doesn't know which side she should choose. With her two-faced balancing stick, she tries to weigh up the extremes of black and white, while she doesn't realise that the stick also contains grey elements. Grey: the golden middle between the two extremes. The colour grey does not have the best reputation: a grey sky predicts rain, we like to describe someone inconspicuous as a grey mouse, and grey hair is an undesirable side effect of the ageing process, especially for women. But grey can also be seen as the perfect blend of two extremes; sometimes it's a little lighter and sometimes it's a little darker. The story is about inner conflicts, and when making a decision, we must not choose between 'either/or', but we can also make a 'both/and' decision.

What does "imperfection" mean to you in the context of your work?

This is again about the change of perspective. On the one hand, imperfection is often seen as something purely negative. However, in the first place, it is the subjective perception of imperfection that leads to the pursuit of change towards supposed perfection. On the other hand, perfection in many areas is purely a matter of interpretation and not a fixed value. The definition of the perfect outward appearance, for example, is subject to constant change, which manifests itself in trends. Especially in the age of social media, many people chase after supposed perfection and find themselves caught up in a never-ending marathon, both mentally and physically, without realising that it is supposed imperfection that makes each and every one of us so special and human.
As I said before, my creatures would love to be alive, just like you and me. They may not look like humans, but they have a lot in common with us. Each of them is unique, just like you and me! Each of them has its own style, its own uniqueaura and its own personal story, just like you and me! Humans are not perfect, and neither are my creatures. Our imperfection is not only evident in our physical appearance, which shows numerous asymmetries. In my work, I therefore intentionally do not strive for geometric perfection, and with full intention, I use old, broken and reused objects for my work, which are anything but perfect, but that give my creatures this unique, inimitable touch that humans are naturally gifted with at birth. We could say, my creatures are like you and me: completely perfect in their imperfection.

Barry - Monster from under the bed with identity crisis, Mixed media, 58.5 x 26 cm, 2021 and Kumiko - Seeing thanks to blindness, Mixed media, 71 x 26 cm, 2021 © JoKu

How do you hope people feel when they look at your art?

I hope that something about my creatures will stay in people's minds or last in an emotional way because they were reminded of their childhood and fantastic dreams, or because they see how much can be made of supposedly useless or broken materials and items.
Until a few years ago, I used to visit street markets with my creatures, which gave me the opportunity to see how Kindergarten children reacted to my creatures. This was a wonderful experience! When seeing my creatures, they suddenly stood still, being a little bit unsure and surprised, and then slowly approaching with a big smile on their faces to take a closer look and discover the fine details. I want those bright eyes and that curiosity! My creatures are meant to spread a bit of nostalgia in adults and invite them to go a step back in time to when they were children, full of imagination, creativity, crazy ideas and openness to the unknown. I love fairy tales and everything associated with them, and I would be happy if people could drift off into a fairy-tale world where the strict rules of the adult world, the laws of physics and logical thinking take a short break, even if it's only for a brief moment.
Usually, my creatures come along quite cheerful and colourful. At the same time, their stories and the message they deliver reveal, in a subtle way, serious topics. The main topic of my work is the change of perspective. On the one hand, this is reflected in the external appearance of my creatures, as they are mainly made from reused materials and objects thatoriginally had a different purpose. On the other hand, the change of perspective is evident in their little stories, in which, for example, I see the world through the perspective of a monster or promote the magic power of the inconspicuous colour grey. This change of perspective is strongly linked to mindfulness and appreciation. When we learn to appreciate the resources that surround us, we also make use of these resources carefully and mindfully. And when talking about resources, I do not only speak about materials but also about people, their intuition, feelings and experiences.

In what ways do your materials influence the final form of each piece?

I love to work with old, broken and discarded materials and items, giving them a completely different purpose and therebybringing them to new life again. Many materials are unique and cannot simply be replaced, while others originate from street markets or were originally part of a bigger object. They give my creatures this unique and inimitable touch. I honestly wouldn't know where to start without these wonderful materials and items. They are my muse, and it is thanks to them that my creatures exist.

Pyra - Process of growth, Mixed media, 46 x 26 cm, 2024 © JoKu

Lastly, what would you say to someone who wants to create but feels they lack the 'right' tools or materials?

Let's see if I can inspire others with my own story. It all started with a closet full of decorations that I no longer wanted to display because I didn't like them anymore or because I had changed my interior design, but due to my nostalgic heart, I didn't want to give away, sell or even throw them away. I thought about how I could create something new from these things, and that's how it all began. I made my very first creature out of a foil balloon that had the shape of a rabbit's head, an oval fruit bowl, bra pads, a washing ball for the washing machine and parts of a wooden curtain clip. Step by step, these things turned into a galaxy surfer named Killer, and step by step, acrylic paints, sewing supplies, sandpaper, etc., moved into my flat. It's a process, and as with any process, you just have to get started by taking the very first step, and that step can be experimental, unplanned and chaotic. In the beginning, the only thing that matters is that you actually take that first step.
Today, I examine materials and objects closely before throwing them away. This is where the change of perspective that characterises my work begins. Before I give or throw away something, I take a close look at it and ask myself: 'What could this object or parts of it still be good for?' Recently, my hair dryer broke, and instead of simply throwing it away, I took it apart to see which parts of it I could use for my work, and there were quite a few! It's exciting to see how everyday items are built and what precious treasures hide behind their protective case. Today, I appreciate materials and objects much more than I used to before my artistic work because I have become aware of the resources they are made of. Thishas changed my consumption habits enormously and led to another change of perspective. Nowadays, I am very often no longer outraged about how expensive something is, but amazed at how cheap something is considering the material, technology and labour that was spent to produce it. In our daily life, we are surrounded by lots of treasures that are justwaiting to be explored.

Artist’s Talk

Al-Tiba9 Interviews is a promotional platform for artists to articulate their vision and engage them with our diverse readership through a published art dialogue. The artists are interviewed by Mohamed Benhadj, the founder & curator of Al-Tiba9, to highlight their artistic careers and introduce them to the international contemporary art scene across our vast network of museums, galleries, art professionals, art dealers, collectors, and art lovers across the globe.

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