For this sixth episode of CC Stories, we infiltrate the secret spaces of creation. The studio is a place full of rituals — sometimes mundane, sometimes mysterious — where ideas flow and collide. Sometimes orderly, sometimes noisy, bright or tiny, the studio has always fascinated those who seek to understand how a work of art is made. Whether they are painters, illustrators, sculptors, or photographers, their hands are their primary tools, and material always takes center stage. For this new episode, Daniel Gordon, Vasantha Yogananthan, and Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck open their doors to us.
“My studio is like a cocoon, cut off from the outside world: it overlooks our garden, and I don’t hear the noise of the city. I need absolute calm to work on my photographic prints — it’s a state of mind that isn’t so easy to achieve. Entering the studio is, in a way, like facing a blank canvas.” — Vasantha Yogananthan
Johanna lives just a few minutes’ walk from her studio in the Oxfordshire countryside near London, while Daniel and Vasantha’s studios are attached to their homes — New York for Daniel, Marseille for Vasantha. For all of them, the studio is a special world, sheltered from the outside yet deeply rooted in a neighborhood, a place.
“We moved into our current place in 2018, located in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn. It’s relatively quiet here compared to North Williamsburg. The south has a large Jewish Ultra Orthodox population, though there’s a mix of all different kinds of people in a mostly residential area. It’s very convenient to work and live in the same place. It has its advantages and disadvantages, though for the time being I’m very happy, and feel lucky to be living and working here.”— Daniel
To work, some prefer the softness of the morning, while others thrive on the energy of the afternoon. The rituals that shape the studios redefine the space and time of these creative places.
“The best moments are those in which I’m really immersed in what I am doing so that the normal distractions can’t get to me. Mornings tend to move slowly but I’m generally into something that has captured my attention by mid-day.”— Daniel
Vasantha prefers to work in the early part of the day when the body is rested and the mind is clear, accompanied by the scent of morning coffee—a daily pleasure.
Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck in her studio - 2024. Photograph by Kohei Yamamoto
When asked which moments she prefers in the studio, Johanna answers that there are two: “When I arrive, I see the space full of plants and my favourite things – inspirational materials, and I know I have the time to make, be inspired and play—no emails when I am in the studio.
The second is when I get deep into making. It can feel so light and free; I listen to cassettes (Shuta Hasunuma, Jatinder Singh Durhailay, David Edren) on my tape player, a cup of hot tea by my side, often in cups made by my friends Sigrid Volders, Olivia Fiddes and Robin Walden – I feel my friend’s touch, I paint, I drink tea, I turn around and I see Jatinder painting too.”
The work of the hand and material remains a necessary and important stage of creation for all three artists: “What I prefer is when the computer is turned off and I’m working on prints, collages, or any other form of artwork on paper that involves handwork.” — Vasantha.
Daniel, for his part, has been working for several months with household objects. “Sometimes I’ll borrow something from our kitchen to study in my studio, which inadvertently causes confusion/frustration… For example the spatula to make pancakes might be missing or someone’s favorite glass or mug. I don’t think this project would have developed in the same way in another space without proximity to living quarters. I can see very clearly that over the past 20ish years each studio I have worked in has had a serious impression on the work that was made there.”
The studio is a place dedicated to experimentation and infinite possibilities. It’s easy to understand why it can be fascinating: it materializes, in one single space, the ideas of trial and error, creation, fabrication, failure, and also, fulfillment.
“Time seems filled in the studio with a myriad of positive possible futures. There are so many paintings and drawings that I long to create and so many materials I want to touch and play with to compose. I hope to create and turn around and see Jatinder over my shoulder and all we may make for many decades.” — Johanna
Chose Commune publishedNew Canvaswith Daniel Gordon in 2022, nine books with Vasantha Yogananthan, including Mystery Streetin 2023, as well as two books with Johanna Tagada Hoffbeck, including Carnets in 2024.
