Janneke de Lange

In this hotel room at De Groene Afslag, where each room is designed by a different artist, the avocado takes center stage. I use discarded pits to grow young plants that gradually take over the space. I also use the pits and peels as natural dyes to color textiles in dozens of shades of pink, orange, and brown. Worn linens from the hotel industry are given a new life. The stuffed textile strands weave through the space like roots and vines, allowing nature to subtly reclaim human-designed structures.

In this hotel room at De Groene Afslag, where each room is designed by a different artist, the avocado takes center stage. I use discarded pits to grow young plants that gradually take over the space. I also use the pits and peels as natural dyes to color textiles in dozens of shades of pink, orange, and brown. Worn linens from the hotel industry are given a new life. The stuffed textile strands weave through the space like roots and vines, allowing nature to subtly reclaim human-designed structures.

This project is part of my Artist-in-Residence at the CMRC lab, University of Johannesburg. It explores my complex relationship with my phone by investigating the microscopic life it hosts. By taking regular samples, I can observe how this ecosystem changes over time. The dried agar samples are mounted between glass plates and projected using a 100-year-old Magic Lantern.

This project is part of my Artist-in-Residence at the CMRC lab, University of Johannesburg. It explores my complex relationship with my phone by investigating the microscopic life it hosts. By taking regular samples, I can observe how this ecosystem changes over time. The dried agar samples are mounted between glass plates and projected using a 100-year-old Magic Lantern.

This project merges two lifelong passions: greenhouses and tropical fruits. It envisions a paradise, a botanical garden fully dedicated to exotic fruits in an enclosed glass structure. To realize this vision, I created a portable nursery using repurposed baby trolleys, serving as movable greenhouses for the fruit trees.

This project merges two lifelong passions: greenhouses and tropical fruits. It envisions a paradise, a botanical garden fully dedicated to exotic fruits in an enclosed glass structure. To realize this vision, I created a portable nursery using repurposed baby trolleys, serving as movable greenhouses for the fruit trees.

This project combines two lifelong passions: greenhouses and tropical fruits. It envisions a tropical paradise, a botanical garden entirely devoted to exotic fruits within a fully enclosed glass structure. The interior design, or “architecture within architecture,” was brought to life through a collection of porcelain scale models, created using wheel throwing and fruit-shaped molds.

This project combines two lifelong passions: greenhouses and tropical fruits. It envisions a tropical paradise, a botanical garden entirely devoted to exotic fruits within a fully enclosed glass structure. The interior design, or “architecture within architecture,” was brought to life through a collection of porcelain scale models, created using wheel throwing and fruit-shaped molds.

During my residency in Arita, Japan, I focused on creating glazes from scratch, including harvesting and processing my own stones from the Ryumon Waterfall. Crushing and grinding the stones by hand revealed their hidden beauty and informed my designs. Inspired by the unbaked glazes and stones, I created porcelain containers, using my favorite glazes to build a “glaze universe.” Most elements were made on the pottery wheel, exploring the limits of creating delicate, tiny forms.

During my residency in Arita, Japan, I focused on creating glazes from scratch, including harvesting and processing my own stones from the Ryumon Waterfall. Crushing and grinding the stones by hand revealed their hidden beauty and informed my designs. Inspired by the unbaked glazes and stones, I created porcelain containers, using my favorite glazes to build a “glaze universe.” Most elements were made on the pottery wheel, exploring the limits of creating delicate, tiny forms.

Batik Tools explores the Javanese batik technique within a Dutch context. Inspired by my travels, I recreated the tools using local materials, most of which were collected directly from the forest. The first tool is a canting: a metal reservoir that holds hot wax and allows patterns to be drawn onto textile through a small spout. Additional tools include ceramic and copper furnaces and bowls for melting the wax. For the textile, I researched traditional linen production and followed several workshops; the spindle was used to spin flax into thread. Natural dyes were made from willow, alder, birch and oak. The final textile brings together all tools and processes, dyed in three layers with wax applied between each stage.

The Spectrument is a meditation tool that reintroduces a sense of alchemy by combining scientific principles with spiritual experience. Sound causes a thin soap film to vibrate, making colours shift and form patterns known as Chladni figures, which are directly related to sound frequency. The tools are made of hammered copper and stored in a specially designed suitcase.

The Spectrument is a meditation tool that reintroduces a sense of alchemy by combining scientific principles with spiritual experience. Sound causes a thin soap film to vibrate, making colours shift and form patterns known as Chladni figures, which are directly related to sound frequency. The tools are made of hammered copper and stored in a specially designed suitcase.

This project was a biomaterial research into mint. The final result was a folding screen. By steaming the mint leaves together, paper sheets were created. The panels are connected by cotton that has been dyed in a mint bath.