MARTINE JOHANNA: How to Eliminate Stress and Anxiety Through Good Housekeeping

Martine Johanna studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in Arnhem, Netherlands, where she completed both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees. She recently participated in a residency with The Jaunt in Gothenburg, Sweden (7-12 December 2022), during which she produced an exclusive print.

Johanna has exhibited internationally, including exhibitions at commercial galleries in Amsterdam, San Francisco, New York, Aalborg, Los Angeles and San Diego, and has participated in exhibitions at cultural institutions including the Mesa Arts Museum in Arizona and Collectie de Groen in Arnhem.

In this interview, Johanna discusses her overall thematic approaches and the works on display in her third solo show for New York’s Massey Klein Gallery, How to Eliminate Stress and Anxiety Through Good Housekeeping, on display through May 20, 2023. Read our 2020 interview with Johanna about her Massey Klein show Balancing Act.

Interview by Isabel Hou

Your exhibition Balancing Act at Massey Klein Gallery in 2020 explored the weight and tension of societal expectations placed on women at young, formative points. This exhibition, however, explores themes of image versus self-image. Do you view this exhibition as a continuation of your past investigations, a divergence, or something else entirely?

Where those works were more intimate and modest, in some way the wrenching issues I felt with Balancing Act have expanded, like a ripple effect or an oil stain. With the pandemic and with the walls quite literally closing in on people, online social uproar seemed to bleed into reality, and people from all kinds of backgrounds became more obsessed with their beliefs. Online reality for many became more real than personal experience. And belief for some became even more of a touchstone than science or undeniable fact. Research via algorithmic rabbit holes on social media and conspiracy sites presented situations as reality, and the news was already no longer “the eight o’clock” neutral place to be.

When I was little, I once asked my mother why the newsman never showed emotions during a broadcast. She said, ‘He's a news anchor, so he needs to be neutral because it is sober facts, it is serious, not drama, not meant to entertain.’ I quite liked that reasoning, it was a calm and rock steady feeling. At the same time as a child I was opposed to oppressive social rules and beliefs. I always loved the idea of looking forward, thinking of possibilities, not obstructions, of co-existing and coming to more interesting outcomes together because of positive differences.

When I looked at the world, all I saw was possibility. I was deeply fascinated by cults rooted in higher ideals and I found out how over time they would fall apart. Mostly because of power corrupt leaders or freeloaders that leeched on their newfound micro society until it was bled dry. Sometimes it feels like the deterioration of civil society; where working together, conversation, critical thinking or philosophy are no longer the standard of higher thinking. Instead of investing in communication, we see those in a permanent state of upset or insulted with a pitchfork mentality and the market and politics feeding into the wants and “needs” of those who are the loudest. It's leading to an explosive amount of over simplified boxes and short-term thinking.

To put it bluntly and in no particular order or weight: politics vs. religion, gender freedom vs. conservativism, sexual emancipation vs. frigid censorship, filter vs. realness, cultural celebration vs. isolation, religion vs. choice rights, old vs. young, environment vs. hypercapitalism, Me Too as a movement vs validators of the Male Rape Myth and shamanism vs. science. It feels like people try to unconvincingly scream in each other’s faces their claim to be right OR ELSE! expecting to come out as a winner. I see it as the static from the old TV screen, all the teeming dots, all these loud voices with their magical captivating dance put a distorted blanket over the actual wirework behind the screen. With all the distraction, what needs actual attention becomes unheard and unseen through self-centered idiocracy. 

How this train of thought reflects in my work is varied, because these few works are just a glimpse of my own “zombie escape plan” into my realm of dreams layered with a sometimes ironic indirect portrayal of a troubled society. It's the fragmented person trying to check all the boxes of favoritism while her cute pet dog eyerolls mockingly to all her attempts. Who is the “good dog” here? Are we that dependent on superficial affirmation?

Whilst at the same time, I celebrate the possibilities in the construct of puzzle pieces that she ignores, her true worth. It's the Girl in “Glorious!” that has the world burning in her footsteps, but she sees through the glasses of ecstatic filtered ignorance. Still, I love her endless optimism. It's the girl inside every woman that grows older and changes but wants to dream unlimited of what's out there for her in “Turn Off the Night Lights”. But with the curtain blowing inwards, maybe she already was at the right place where she has all she needs. Or is she diving deeper into the escape of her unconscious mind? 

It's the stark matte self-portrait in “Cloudbusting”, on top of a visual echo of a deconstructed Eve in paradise that is still dreaming of her possibilities while she is falling apart. It's “Good Housekeeping”, the woman that did her chores to feel relief, waiting in the window for some adventure in a mysterious space with her protective household gloves still on, hypnotized by her imagined world while strongly holding on to her own window to the world.

“Glorious!”, 2023, Acrylic on panel, 23.6 x 19.6 inches

“Turn Off the Night Lights”, 2023, Acrylic on linen, 47 x 74.8 inches

Can you discuss the process of thought that led to the exhibition title, How to Eliminate Stress and Anxiety Through Good Housekeeping? Where does that come from, and what does it mean?

On social media there are increasingly more advertisements that push the people we actually follow off our timelines. Between the zombifying reels and rare interesting posts, I constantly saw these mental health ads, one stuck with me, “How to relieve stress and anxiety through .....” I can't remember the rest, all I felt was annoyance. It made me think of how ironic it is that social media, proven to be bad for one’s mental health, is trying to “help” with these commercial ads that the platform makes money off, like a twisted commercial infinity loop. 

I always like to think of the practicality of coping skills instead of magical thinking. I thought of my mom and what she did with her anxiety – she would clean the house, and as daughter to daughter, also made me do it. She was always chasing some kind of control but was never satisfied with herself and [she was] always worrisome. Still, I like to clean and tidy my house to clean and tidy up my brain.

I also like the conservative down to earth tone of the solution “Good Housekeeping”, that's never suggested in those mental health ads, it's often something mystical that you can never do yourself, only with some self-proclaimed guru. Anyway, only us girls had to help with the housekeeping, my older sister before me, mother’s little helpers, I wanted to do male chores, but was never allowed because of traditional role divisions.

So later on I taught myself simple electrical wiring, tiling and other “guy” things. There lies a big part of what I don't appreciate in male/female divides, I don't mind differences between sexes, people with different qualities can make a stronger team, but the strong words are often associated with male and the weak with female, suggesting that the concept of power lies beyond my reach because of my gender.

Just like men are still struggling with vulnerability, these value concepts are mental prisons. It's an absurd and ancient political, religious, and linguistic allocation bias. And it makes a lot of males feel empowered to ridicule those who are seen as weaker. No wonder so many girls would prefer to be a boy in some sense, I know I wanted that, because that seems like a place to start from with more options, and no judgement, no sex specific curse words, no shaming, and less danger. 

“Cloudbusting”, 2023, Acrylic on panel, 39 x 27.5 inches

“Good Housekeeping”, 2023, Acrylic on panel, 31.5 x 23.6 inches

In your interview with Interlocutor in 2020, you stated that you are an “endless romantic.” What are your feelings about the Renaissance idea of love, and why did you explore it?

Whereas female Renaissance poets like Mary Sidney or Isabella Whitney were carefully virtuous and their work reflected a desire for a classless idealized world, male poets like Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh described love in the way of an overpowering force, both sexual and spiritual. Drenched in secrecy of course because lust in those times was not necessarily something of marriage. But these passionate words were adopted in cheap dime novels and romantic fairy tales directed mostly to women, to incite that longing.

In reality, there are never that many princes or princesses around, we’re all mostly frogs by the standards of our constructed idea of perfect desirability. I’ve devoured many romantic novels and films and was completely floored by that idea of coveting something impossible, and still am in my adulthood. Isn’t that a nice parallel with coveting the freedom of men in a world mostly made and designed by and for men. I’d like to design it together from a human point of view, without the burden of prejudice. 

How, as a kid, I loved to take flight and my dreams were of me holding some kind of mystical power, to have adventures on my own, to discover the world as a young woman, but from a place of strength. But our imagination crosses swords with reality, and reality has a sharper edge. So as the weaker one you bow down to not get cut, to avoid danger. Hence why we all love to escape, into things or experiences online or in our dreams, or, for some, radical belief systems, it's a fragmented search for Utopia, the always coveted but not obtainable. So I take flight in my own created world, under my own rules, having my own power, why not? Through the romantic eye the world is magical and mystical, and until my hand fails and my mind falters, I will enjoy the cycle of my cells until I'm no more than fairy dust.

“Good Dog”, 2023, Acrylic on panel, 39 x 27.5 inches

You cite Titian’s “Venus with a Mirror” (1555) as a source of inspiration for this exhibition. Some describe the painting as a celebration of the “ideal” beauty of the female form, while others describe it as a critique of vanity. What themes did you draw from the piece, and how do they contribute to your work?

I liked the idea of Titian romanticizing his subject, while seemingly criticizing her for self-admiration, even though he directed her, he put her in that position and her only influential power in the male infrastructure at that time probably was clinging on to her beauty as a resource, like so many still do today.

I chose the Xray version of Titian’s painting as an inspiration, showing the craftily hidden “mistakes” by the artist, like a contradictory train of thought, a grey mixed up cloud undone of any color. A rough version of Venus is in the background of my “Venus in a Mirror”, black stains press through the composition, Venus now but a thought far away in history, peeking from behind the curtain into an uncertain future where women still receive criticism for being insufficient in the realm of men.

Like how the suffragettes who wanted voting rights were called ugly and accused of being unable to find a husband, there is always an uproar against the fear of losing some power. I have nothing against the male gaze or female gaze, I just wholeheartedly believe in a combined force of sexes, any society would thrive with aiming to utilize the strengths of all of their people. In the layers of this work appear versions of femininity; Eve who consults with Satan (symbolizing nature) to obtain equal power of knowledge confiscated by man, the seductress, the virgin, the mother and finally on top the unique personality, human undefined, powerful, colorful, and radiant in silence.

The female form is a continuous exploration of your work. Do you feel that your perception of the female form, as an artist and a woman, has changed over time?

It has somewhat grown, maybe – she becomes more cynical but remains of an undefined age, how most women I know feel inside, somewhere stuck in their thirties. Sometimes adolescent, coming into adulthood with careful steps, more and more stripped of a childish innocence but with a sense of adventure. I don't paint to affirm outward characteristics, for me that would be too literal and distract from the internal character.

“Venus in a Mirror”, 2023, Acrylic on linen, 63 x 47 inches

Your prismatic, bright hues stand out in “Good Housekeeping” and “Turn Off the Night Lights”, where the classic 1970s color schemes interplay with imagery of TV sets and technicolor television. Can you talk about the intention behind that era and those themes?

How unbelievably attractive those technicolor images were, like a suggestion of reality but still far away from it. Like some dream where colors are hyper exaggerated, just like stop motion was a way to make the non-existing seem alive. I still have my View-Master with slides of sleeping beauty, the thorn bushes in 3D, the colors mesmerizing.

The 70s had such a colorful optimistic design aesthetic, everything plastic, polyester, candy colored, big bold floral patterns to sit on, like Alice in hyper wonderland. From the 60s, full of sexual liberation towards the 70s backlash and 80s sliding into the digital era growing colder and more distant.

The 1978 film Close Encounters of the Third Kind, an inspiration for “Glowing Lights” was such a portrayal of hope within humanity's deeply rooted loneliness, the longing for something more out there in that film is palpable. I think that is what haunts me, that longing for love and acceptance, for some dream to become real, less alone.

Seeing the world through the romantic eye is just one of those ways to express it, for some it is creating something like music, poetry, art; anything expressive. Besides that colorful looking glass I enjoy painting what is extremely hard to capture in a photo, to digitize or copy. I like to play with the unobtainable, painting with overly saturated or neon hues, contrasting colors tricking the eye to see something that is not there, painting in undefinable layers and different varnishes to create reflection or complete dull obscurity and accentuate the layers in the work. Something original, with texture, flaws and feeling.

What about Fauvism appeals to you as an artist? Why do you choose to draw from elements of Fauvism in your work?

The most excited that I've been in museums is from the Fauvist colorful vibrations, the colors fighting and uniting on one surface like a strained relationship. Sonia Delaunay's early portraits are so mesmerizing, like she was trying to separate colors from the naturalistic in preparation of her later abstract works. Capturing hues from nature and deconstructing reality.

How strangely hypnotizing is the pointillism in Henry Crosse's bathers, not so different from Technicolor TV, the dancing dots. Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night,” with his rough dynamic strokes. Henri Matisse constantly simplifying his visual language to the bare essential is so inspirational. How I love les fauves, with their 20th century boldly colored, painterly emotional expressive works that seem to cheer the colorful world within a new industrial era full of expectation and excitement. That painterly brushstroke in a digital age is what I chase in my own way in the 21st century.

“Venus in a Mirror” and “Cloudbusting” include squares and rectangles layered over each other. Can you discuss the inspiration behind that choice – was it the mirror imagery from “Venus with a Mirror”, or something else?

The overlaying picture-over-picture is what I felt like painting, because of how we view ourselves in different roles, so yes, maybe the mirror in a sense it is about how we portray ourselves in different media and in social structures, with family, as daughters, close friends, acquaintances, colleagues, as role models, as lovers, as partners, etc. A portrayal of reality and dreams not following the size and shape of the medium it's painted on but leading its own life.

“Glowing Lights”, 2023, Acrylic on panel, 15.75 x 11.8 inches

In your 2020 Interlocutor interview, you stated, “I think my work is like a diary, it shows all these stages of my life and inner turmoil, and those things are relatable for a big group.” How have you changed since then, and how have those changes contributed to your work in this exhibition?

I have opened up to see myself in a positive light through others, and that has brought me new experiences, love, happiness, and suffering. I've discovered how to hold on and let go, to try and be more honest and be less hard on myself, which is the hardest part. I'm learning to set boundaries and how hard it is to do so. And I have more love and energy to create more extensive worlds in my work and to be more thoughtful of the here and now. And still, I realize that anyone who reads this or sees my work can recognize something of themselves in the narrative, no matter who you are.

And if you don't, that is also fine.

The press release for this exhibition poses one question: “Does [Venus] see herself through the same lens as the patriarchal society around her?” In your mind, is Venus ever genuinely able to view herself independently of society’s lens?

Venus, like all creative expression, is caught in a 2-way mirror, that of the artist's initiative and the consumer. Her layers will be interpreted to how the viewer sees it. To me, that is a wonderfully complex reward, and it just shows, as always, the eye of the beholder, the lonely human eye looking for purpose and meaning, or lack thereof.  

How to Eliminate Stress and Anxiety Through Good Housekeeping is on display at Massey Klein Gallery, 124 Forsyth Street, New York, NY, through May 20, 2023.

Isabel Hou is a rising senior at Cornell University interested in art, writing, and law. She plans to live and work in Manhattan this summer and post-grad. When she’s not in New York, she’s based out of Colorado, where she enjoys the mountains, the art, and the solitude.