YONOBI first met Louise Reimer back in 2016, we were both in our early years of starting a business, and we quickly found a common passion for materials and the ways of using and presenting materials in new ways. Louise is in many ways a researcher as much as she is a ceramist. Every time we visit her studio we always ends up talking about ways of incorporating nature and the beauty of natures own color and patterns - like the texture of sand, moss and algae.
So when Louise contacted me earlier this year (2021), and told us about her new ceramic adventure 'Af Jord', we just new knew we had to follow along this new journey.
Picture by Maya Matsuura
'Af Jord' - "by Earth" is about being connected to the earth and the stillness of everyday life. Her materials are honest and natural, collected from the surrounding nature. The design is simple - yet innovative and executed with high craftsmanship.
Louise is a truly gifted craftsman - and her work feels understated but at the same time extremely sharp. Her approach to the subject means that the works contain a striking presence that goes deeper than fleeting trends and transient themes. There is something eternal about the creations of this potter who, through her immediate honesty, disarms and fascinates. The works possess a strong cohesion despite their different appearance. It is a common thread that testifies to an artist who rests in herself and her material-oriented process.
Picture by Maya Matsuura
When Louise works, the dialogue with the material is always at the center. Louise moves freely in the field of tension between tradition and innovation, and her cautious curiosity has provided an opportunity to understand and work with the material rather than trying to control it. An approach that makes it clear to see the hand's knowledge of the material in the finished product. Through these experiments, Louise manages to mix the clay with other natural materials with an understated foresight, whereby she retains the original qualities and at the same time challenges the established norms.
Picture by Maya Matsuura
Louise creates her work in an old and charming station building in the old fisherman town Espergærde, located in the north of Zealand, Denmark.
In June 2021 YONOBI and Japanese photographer Maya Matsuura visited Louise at Espergærde to capture her working on her 'Nær' vases.
Video by Maya Matsuura