Claudia Janke: artist

Everyone has a story. Super skilled with a camera and creatively playful Claudia Janke finds inspiration in her Angel neighbourhood for pan-European harmony. Here she talks about how photography, games with string phones and even a little wave helped everyone on the rebuilt Packington in N1 to connect. Interview by Nicola Baird. Photos by Claudia Janke

This interview with Claudia Janke, 53, was over Zoom while she was staying in her parents’ village, close to Heidelberg, Germany, working on another big project, Wavelength. Inspired by her life on Packington, Wavelength sees her cycling with an art installation of people waving which she takes around festivals, neighbourhoods and countries.

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With so much on the go, it’s no surprise that it’s taken a while for Islington Faces to track Claudia down, but we were delighted that when she came back to the Packington in summer 2024 she was able to take the photos for us at iuslington Faces’ 365 celebration on Monday 15 July.

Q: Where do you live in Islington?
On the Packington. I moved to the Packington estate in February 1999. I was given the flat as a social housing tenant, so didn’t have a choice, but I love that I ended up here.

For more info about the history of the Packington, built as social housing in the 1960s and then redeveloped and expanded, with work starting in 2007, see here.

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Where are your favourite places in Islington?

1. I really love the canal. I spend a lot of time walking, sitting, reading by Regent’s Canal. I like to chill out and go for walks there but sometimes I place artworks along the canal and use it as my gallery.
2. Love Camden Passage. You really feel the atmosphere at Camden Passage particularly when the shops are closed and at Christmas. Passing through feels like a time machine.
3. Really love the Islington Farmers Market in Chapel Market on a Sunday (10am-2pm). I get my veg at Chapel Market on a Sunday then sit in Chapel Market Roastery café, 4 Chapel Market, and have a coffee, see Insta @Chapelmarketroastery
4. I like the pubs in Islington and love the New River that goes from Islington to Newington Green
5. There are a lot of galleries I don’t use enough, like the Victoria Miro gallery, 16 Wharf Road, N1.
6. I really like the way you can walk, or cycle, anywhere – into town, to the Tate, to Camden, to Hoxton and the Barbican. Islington is a really great location for walking.
7. I love my local community centre, The Arc at 98b St Paul’s Street. They have a great cafe and also run a food bank and gardening workshops.

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Q: How did you discover Islington?
I used to work as an assistant in a photography studio, Metro. I’m from Germany and moved to London to a flat in Lewisham in 1994 which was a bit far from EC1 so found a flat share in Islington so I could walk to work. I really loved it and never left.

Q: Why London?
I was studying photography in Germany and as part of that we had to do an internship. Around that time the EU borders were growing together more and students were encouraged to go on an encounter (sometimes with Erasmus grants) to experience and explore the EU, so I could live and work anywhere. I came to London because I spoke a little bit of English, and it’s well known for photography. I did an internship at Metro and fell in love with London.

Q: Tell us about your photography and other projects on the Packington.
Last year (2023) I published the Packington Works book – a collection of 20 years of art-making with my neighbours on the Packington. As part of the launch we placed images in the community squares. My first project started in 2003 when it was still the old Packington and I photographed my neighbours on the walkway. I’d been commissioned to photograph My London by a magazine in Italy. Rather than photograph the well-known places and pubs I wanted to focus on my immediate surroundings. I thought people don’t really know that side of London with social housing, residential areas and intimate details of neighbourhood.

I started the next project when we were told that our estate was going to be demolished and we had to go. I photographed my neighbours and their belongings inside their flats, interviewed them, recorded ambient sound and collected archival images all over the estate.  I wanted to talk about that while everyone from outside the estate seemed to be glad to see the Packington demolished, for us it was more – our home and our community. Once we moved to the new blocks, which were built around us at the same time (we were living on a building site for 12 years), I recreated our flats inside the old empty block and invited the general public to experience the old Packington through sound, stories and imagery.

Q What did people see?
For months Islington Faces would cycle past the Packington being rebuilt on the way to work in EC1. Sometimes there’d be a wrecking ball bang into the buildings, or an empty room hanging in the sky cleared for demolition, but still with its distinctive floral wallpaper.

I put the images up inside the old flats at the same spot where they were taken. People could walk around listening to our stories and hear familiar sounds – for example the sound of the caretaker mopping the stairs or a local youth playing music – all the while looking at their images.

Once we all had been moved into our new flats and the Packington had been entirely demolished and rebuilt, I started working with the community to help bring the old and new residents together. It’s now a housing association, before it was council housing. New people and private tenants came to live with us so there was quite a lot of uncertainty. I started creating more projects where people could connect with each other. This was initially commissioned by an arts organisation called AIR (artists in residence) brought in by the housing association to make art that moved us closer. Alongside another two artists we had an ‘artists’ summer’. I ended up filming over 100 residents waving from their doorsteps and balconies. I flew a drone around the Packington estate as people waved. The film then was shown in the community square as a multiscreen installation. People were watching it with popcorn and a drink. It was lovely. From there I ended up doing more projects.

Q What happened during covid?
I really like the square I live on. It’s lovely to try out things, bring myself into it and see what other people respond. During covid I struck up conversation with my opposite neighbours by placing questions in my windows, like: “Hey, how are you?”. Each night I’d change them as I wanted a response, eg, ‘What are you up to? I’m eating pasta. What about you?’.  Five days later the people across started answering. We ended up having a 50-day conversation. We’d never met before. That turned into a really lovely artwork. Each day people came on their daily walk to the squares and had a look.  The three who answered started playing Tic-Tac-Toe (noughts and crosses) and crosswords. I sent them messages in Morse Code and made them an egg hunt for easter. I placed things around the estate and gave clues.

As it went further, I thought now I’d like to speak to them, so we created a string phone. It ended up being turned into a string phone sculpture. With the help of AiR I spanned 16 string phones across the square, up to 60 metres long. So many neighbours participated and joined on their balconies for a day of string phone fun. We started playing string phone whispers and the artist, Rubie came to sing through one of the phones.

Most recently I created the Canalside portrait with residents gathered in the square. All this work from 2003-2023 was combined in a book, Packington Works, which came out last year (2023).

Q What are you working on now?
Just before covid I turned the Packington Wavelength project into a pan European film project and art action against division. I have filmed people waving in solidarity and friendship in each of the 27 EU countries. To screen the film I built the Wavemobile, a cargo bike with a Led screen on the back. I ride around festivals, neighbourhoods or countries to show the work, film more people, and talk about the meaning of solidarity. The Wavelength Project started in London, but at the moment I’m working in the EU.

In London I’m just starting a project with an organisation called Beyond Equality (we’re looking for funding). It’s a portrait series of men who work in male dominated spaces and schools to talk about consent and and challenge toxic masculinity. It’s exciting as I think male allies are vital to achieve true equality and eliminate violence against women. I’m also working with an old-fashioned box camera which is new for me and totally analogue.

Summing up
Claudia is such a talented human. It was great to hear her Islington story. I’d also like to share a really special thank you with her for helping Islington Faces at its 365 celebration in July 2024 and taking so many beautiful photos. You can enjoy these photos at these links:  Mayor Anjna Khurana

Find out more

www.claudiajanke.com
www.wavelengthproject.eu
Instagram: @claudiajanke
Instagram: @wavelengthprojects
Enjoy Claudia Janke’s book, Packington Works, the beauty and complexities of 20 years of making art with my neighbour, £15

Over to you
If you’d like to nominate someone to be interviewed who grew up, lives or works in Islington, or suggest yourself, please let me know, via nicolabaird dot green at gmail dot com. If you enjoyed this post you might like to look at the A-Z  index, or search by interviewee’s roles or Meet Islingtonians to find friends, neighbours and inspiration. Thanks for stopping by. Nicola