Juju Bento’s body guides her practice
Matilda Jonsson
Cords, screws and small motors make up the body of Juju Bento’s sculptures. Industrial hardware is the primary material. It’s clinical, neat and unexpected. At just 27, Juju Bento is an up-and-coming artist combining scientific and artistic research methods to produce installations that entice all senses. Through a phenomenological lens, she investigates the invisible ripples that tie the universe together in mechanical bold strokes.
IRK: You grew up in the Portuguese countryside, did your Master’s in Fine Arts in Sweden, and you’re currently in Paris working as an assistant for artist Tarik Kiswanson. How has your artistic process evolved working in these different places?
Juju Bento: My process has always been entangled with the place I am in; I’m deeply influenced by my surroundings. In my work, I try to be site-specific and site-sensitive, meaning concerned with both the architecture and the sensory conditions of a space. What has differed between these locations is first and foremost a change in rhythm and materials, and so my production changes as well. It’s not the same in the countryside as in Sweden or Paris, but I like and need all of them. I get different ideas from each place I inhabit, but they also influence each other. The silence In Sweden was really striking – the dry air has a constant effect on the spatiality of the sound.
IRK: What have you found so far in Paris that excites you?
Juju Bento: The proportions of the architecture and the number of people allow for a sense of anonymity, or smallness, that I’m enjoying a lot. Walking around makes me lose my identity and gain a sense of freedom. The light in Paris is really special too; a thin, gold-toned layer filters through the ash trees. I’ve tried to be very conscious of light in the last few years. Lots of it gathers on the surface of the Seine; the river a mirror, the light a veil on a breeze. It’s warm, calm and weighted. Indoors, a similar light is usually possible to find in churches during certain hours, if the electricity is off.
IRK: In the tiny village of Kilpisjärvi, north of the Arctic circle, you studied the color of the sky and the sound of the land, which resulted in the installation Dreaming About the Blue Sky Above. Sound and light are very important components in your work. How do you relate to them, and how do you relate the two to each other?
Juju Bento: It’s true, I’m very interested in these subjects. I grew up in a family of engineers, which meant I was always around science and the aesthetics of science. That sparked my curiosity. Now, my work is heavily focused on phenomenology, the study of the conscious experience and how things appear to the mind from a first-person perspective. My body becomes the tool that guides my exploration of scientific subjects. So sound and light are the things I hear and see, the readings on my instruments. That’s why I never wear headphones. I don’t even own a pair. I want to always feel connected to the world, so I prefer to listen to my surroundings. All over Paris, there is this background noise that never quiets, which is having its own influence on me. Sundays and Mondays are slightly different but not much.
IRK: Water and air seem like lenses through which you notice your surroundings. Would you say they are the elements that resonate the most with you?
Juju Bento: Yes, I think so. I belong to this universe through my body, which is made of part liquid, part movement. I’m fascinated by how the river Seine influences and manipulates the city and its citizens. Far from the ocean, the Seine facilitates connections and transports, it cleanses and purifies, as well as separates north from south. The river thus functions like a compass. A compass is useful because we feel safer when we can orient ourselves in the world, if not consciously then unconsciously. On the surface of the river, I see the forces of the wind – a reflection of totality.
IRK: Many of your installations are site-specific, that is, the sculptures you create are large-scale works in dialogue with the space they are exhibited in. What are some challenges with this approach?
Juju Bento: My vision and goal working with these methods is to make it very immersive for the audience. I want them to feel connected with the space, and to achieve this, I try to work with all senses of the human body. Some of the challenges are technical ones – sometimes the space I’m working in has restrictions due to preservation regulations. I have to respect that, but sometimes it’s difficult to maintain the work’s integrity while adapting it for new venues. It’s the same for human beings, adapting to a new place takes a while. So the biggest challenge is to anticipate the time and manner in which the audience will adapt to this new environment, and what helps me to do that is trying to remember the way I felt on my first visit.
IRK: Outside of your professional life, when do you feel your body is most in tune with a space?
Juju Bento: I’m oriented towards the people that make up a room or context. Their actions and interactions create meaning and value, and by participating in that creation, I also start to belong to the space and its atmosphere. Those moments form the brightest memories of being in tune.
IRK: Your latest solo exhibition “Muted Whispers of a Heart Murmur” featured a self-portrait of you; a white rectangle, the same height and width as yourself, extending from the wall and, in a way, welcoming visitors as they entered the space. How would you describe your relationship with your audience?
Juju Bento: It partly depends on where I present my work – every audience is different. In Paris, I’m part of the city’s audience, as if everything around me is an ongoing performance, and as soon as I get out the door I’m drawn in by the ambience. I made the self-portrait with the hope that it would be easy for the audience to relate to. It’s a very simple format, but its human scale and shape establishes a bodily connection. The audience and me correlate through our senses and bodies, we affect each other through space and time.
IRK: You also have an upcoming solo exhibition at Galleri Box in Gothenburg. Can you tell us anything about that yet?
Juju Bento: It’s titled The Heavens Yield Like Veils and is still a work in progress. The artwork will explore the materiality of nature and the dreamlike potential of architectural infrastructure, by highlighting the fragility of our surroundings with particular attention to human tactility. It opens in late August this year.
You can find Juju’s portfolio here.
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Matilda is an independent creative based in Sweden, currently exploring the dynamic music and art scenes of Malmö and Copenhagen. Her background is in exhibition design, cultural anthropology and writing. She is especially interested in conversations about the museum’s position in the age of the experience economy, performance art, and whatever’s new in pop culture.
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