interview
PHOTO TROUVEE MAGAZINE
Juliana Naufel & Twiggy Boyer
︎ Sao Paulo/Brazil & Florida/USAseptember 24, 2020
We are always interested in new art projects and collaborations, be they collage-related or not. The two of you founded Photo Trouvée Magazine, a digital art publication with a focus on found imagery and nostalgia. Would you like to tell us a little about how this project came to be?
In February (2020) Twiggy came to Juliana with the idea of creating a publication for artists who work with found photographs – she really wanted to create a visual space for artists who share her love for found photographs. We both felt like our works sometimes didn’t belong in traditional contemporary art spaces and wanted to create a community that would highlight, support, and connect artists who may have felt the same way about their own work.
We both had never done anything like this before and it took us some time to brainstorm and create a plan of action, but ultimately, we took a leap of faith and made it happen. We’re still learning every day, making mistakes and getting better!
Would you like to introduce yourself a little? We talked to Twiggy earlier this year [read the interview here], but know almost nothing about you, Juliana.
My name is Juliana Naufel (@naufss) and I am the co- founder of Photo Trouvée Magazine. I grew up in São Paulo, Brazil - South America’s biggest city! I attended São Paulo’s State University (UNESP) and graduated in 2017 with a BFA and Teaching Degree with a concentration in gender studies. I’m currently doing an MA in Art Therapy. I’ve been passionate about found photos since I was a kid and some of my most precious memories are me and my grandparents going through their photo albums and telling me the stories behind those photographs. I only really started embroidering vintage photos in late 2017, and I see it as a healing practice.
So far I’ve been part of some amazing group shows in Museums and Galleries of Brasil, Argentina, Canada, France, Portugal, Spain & USA and it’s pretty cool that my work has been to places that I still want to visit one day. Creating and being part of an awesome art community is really inspiring and keeps me going on
My name is Twiggy Boyer and I am a mixed media collage artist currently living in South Florida. I was born and raised in Paris, France, and studied painting and curatorial studies at the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD and graduated with a BFA in 2012. I have been a part of a number of group exhibitions, art publications, and worked as a teaching artist for the past 8 years. I am now a full time working artist and stay at home mother to a little girl. My work explores themes of memories and connections through filters of time, tradition and culture often using found photographs as collage elements combined with drawing and painting. In February of 2020, I co-founded Photo Trouvée Magazine - a digital art publication that showcases contemporary artists who use found photographs as a medium in their works.
You are based in Brazil and the US. How did you two meet? Was it all online, or have you met in person?
We had been following each other’s work for some time on Instagram. In the summer (winter for Juliana) of 2019, we both participated in a mastermind for women identifying artists and really became close throughout the program. We’ve actually only met in person once, which really proves that sometimes social media can be a great platform to connect and even build friendships with people from around the world. We hope to see each other in person soon, whether it be in Brazil, in the US, or in France.
How does collaborating across such a long distance work? Are you the super organized types with a fixed editorial schedule? Or do you have a more easy-going approach?
We actually have a fixed weekly schedule and work on Zoom twice a week on Wednesdays and Fridays. We are pretty organized in the sense that we each have specific responsibilities when it comes to the magazine but we’re also both flexible and understand that things come up sometimes in life. We do think it’s important to stay organized and hold each other accountable and to have healthy boundaries in our work relationship, especially being this far apart from each other.
What are some of the problems and pitfalls of working together but apart?
Overall, we don’t have too many pitfalls but technical issues like internet connection do sometimes come up. If it does, we will reschedule or work individually on our side. We try to be patient with each other as sometimes communication can be lost in translation between texting, emailing and the three languages that we navigate.
You both love nostalgia. Everyone has their own definition of nostalgia and of what is part of it. What exactly does it mean to the two of you? How do you define it?
For us, nostalgia is like a warm feeling of longing, a feeling of happiness but also slight sadness when thinking about memories – almost like getting wrapped up in a soft blanket after being cold, and wishing that you could be cold again just so you can experience the feeling of getting wrapped in that warmth again.
What are your goals for Photo Trouvée Magazine? I know it’s early on, but maybe you have already thought about where you would like to take it.
Our main goal is for this community that we love so much to continue to grow, and to keep connecting artists and collectors with each other. We are also hoping that the magazine can be in print form in the future.
Is there anything else you like to share about Photo Trouvée Magazine and/or your collaboration?
Photo Trouvée Magazine is hosting an international open call to artists for issue 3. We are looking for artists who work with found photographs in any media and at any stage in their career. We are open internationally for submissions, there is also no theme for this call as long as the work uses found photos in some way (you can interpret this as literally or abstractly as you want!).
DEADLINE to apply: November, 1st, 2020
You can also tag us or use #phototrouveemagazine on Instragram for a possible feature on our page.
We’d love to say that if you’ve ever felt like your work didn’t belong, we want to send you love and encourage you to keep making! We hope that our community can inspire you.
We want to thank Petra and Paris Collage Collective for this opportunity to share our project, we are grateful to have such great platforms and people in this community.
Photo Trouvée Magazine - Issue 2 available here
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supported by the Doug + Laurie Kanyer Art Collection
Photo Trouvée Magazine ︎︎︎ ︎
Juliana Naufel ︎︎︎ ︎
Twiggy Boyer ︎︎︎︎
Interview: Petra Zehner