“You must put your heart into it”: Meet artist and design duo Josephine Andredottir and Emilie Bobek

Emilie Bobek and Josephine Andredottir, the duo behind the experimental collaboration Andredottir & Bobek, exist in the sometimes-blurry space between art and design. Both are keen to push boundaries within the two disciplines; focusing on items that are part of our daily lives, such as stools, side tables and mirrors, and reinventing them for a new audience. And having already shown at Copenhagen’s Charlottenborg Gallery and created ceramic sculptures displayed by fashion marketplace The Vintage Bar, the world looks like it’s taking note.

Having first met at the Danish Design Academy in 2016, when Bobek was on exchange from Gerrit Rietveld Academy in the Netherlands, the pair discovered a kinship early on. “We eventually started talking about our common interest for the discipline between art and design – that was the start of our journey together,” explains Bobek. Andredottir jumps in: “She talked in visuals and images like me, and some weeks later we talked a lot about the future.” Captivated by the very same artists and designers (Tony Matelli, Brian Thoreen, Zaha Hadid for Bobek; Ron Nagle and Pipilotti Rist for Andredottir) the pair soon discovered they also shared an affinity for nature, and a longing to bridge the gap between frenetic city life and a slower pace of living.

Bobek grew up on a small farm in the countryside, her family later moving to the commune Mørdrupgaard. “It was amazing because there was a great community between the families and great friendships between the kids. In general, I value such things,” she details. In contrast, Andredottir’s upbringing was one of busy city living in Copenhagen, though she did get a bit of respite in the form of trips to Iceland to spend time with family. “I still go one to two times a year,” she shares. It was in Iceland where Andredottir realised she wanted to work with culture from a very early age. “It has always been a thing. My family on the Icelandic side is full of artists, photographers and creative surroundings.” While Bobek, by comparison, hadn't yet determined that art could be in her future until enrolling in art school. “I only knew that I was interested in materials, sculpture and especially clay,” she says.

But the material of things is something which captivates them both and is another reason their pairing found its footing. “I was always enthralled by fabricated objects; Josephine and I often talk about materials or surfaces and new experimental materials that we find fascinating,” says Bobek. Their collaboration has a special, dynamic component, too. When the pair start a project, “anything can happen” they say, the key is to be in close conversation with one another. But what exactly is their process? As working closely with another creative can bring about its own challenges. “We start with ideas, playing and narrowing them down, and experiment with materials. We have worked with many different materials, making things such as wood objects, ceramic sculptures, aluminium casting, powder lacquer… even turning old mattresses and foam pieces into imitations of nature landscapes,” explains Andredottir.

Their friendship is also paramount to the way the women work, spending time together both in and out of the studio. Having a laugh is key too. “Working as an artist and designer you must put your heart into it, and we also share a good sense of humour,” Bobek says. Through fostering a good relationship the pair create beauty in objects, inadvertently communicating this through their final pieces. They’re constantly creating challenges for one another and looking to stretch the possibility of things with the next project. “I think it is very important to push yourself daily and always work with something that is more difficult than the last project. You must discover new things,” Andredottir explains. Bobek adds, “When collaborating you have to have a continuous and open conservation about the work, or you might lose one another along the way.”