F AB / J AN-FEB-MAR 2005 - fabrica

abortion fairy
Francesca Granato was born in
London, UK, 22 years ago. Growing
up, Francesca always knew she
would do something creative,
because she was “always very
bad at everything else”. After three
years at The University of Brighton,
where she studied graphic design,
Francesca was selected to enter
Fabrica’s Visual Communication
Department, in 2003. At Fabrica,
Francesca has further developed her
original work, focusing on genders
and sexuality today.
· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
She is British, she is a feminist
and she is raging. Yes, she’s out
to get you: “You better watch
your back, you chauvinist pig!”
No, that’s not true. Actually, she
is only joking and she is far from
raging. In fact, she is a designer
with a humble call: that people
talk to each other – about gender
identity, about sex and about life.
“Sometimes it is best to provoke in
order to get people to speak out on
awkward matters,” says Francesca.
Through her work she wishes to
evoke light-hearted and humorous
discussions about femininity today.
“And change is on the way,” according
to Francesca, “but we would all be
better off if we talked about what is
happening to men and women.”
So, Francesca, tell us about your
ideas and your work.
I try to design what I think is funny
or engaging, or that provokes some
sort of reaction in me. I don’t have
a specific style. It’s probably more
of a voice, or a tone of voice. Graphic
design is my way of communicating
the things that I feel passionately
about, the things that I need to
know about, the opinions that are
important to me.
Like the Genital Wallpaper?
Well, the cool thing about the
wallpaper is that it is so domestic
and pretty and nice and still it
allows me to introduce something
that is a bit difficult to talk about.
Your approach to feminism
and gender is often humorous,
why is that?
I think that the best way to get
people talking about these issues
is to make it light-hearted and ironic
– to seethatitisalsosomething
to have a laugh about. However,
some people get quite offended
offended by this. But I think that
is also good, because my goal is to
raise debate. Where is the discussion
about gender? People are so reluctant
to talk about sex, feminism and
women’s rights.
What inspires you?
Reading articles about things like
teen pregnancy, infertility, sexually
transmitted diseases, which are all
issues that in the UK there is quite
a problem with, even though we are
such a “developed” country. I think
what evokes creativity in general
are the problems that surround
us. And my creativity comes from
understanding problems that exist
in everyday life.
And that inspires you to create things
like the Abortion Fairy 1 ?
Yes, because when people see
something that is as shocking as
the Abortion Fairy, it makes them
angry, shocked, or it makes them
laugh. Anyway, then they talk about
it, and then they say the word
abortion, and it all becomes a bit
less intimidating, and that is the
whole point.
How did you come up with the idea
of the Chocolate Tampons?
How can something that is as
normal as a toothbrush for half the
population be so disgusting? I think
that’s funny, and I like to highlight
that point. The idea is funny: to create
a link between feminine hygiene and
chocolate – something “disgusting”
and something sweet and indulging.
You have spent almost a year at
Fabrica, how has it been?
In many ways, Fabrica is a real luxury:
to have a year when you can do
whatever you want and not have to
worry about paying the rent or paying
the bills. I think when life becomes
this simple, when it’s stripped down
to these bare essentials, it gives
you time to think about everything.
My year here at Fabrica has given me
the opportunity to really indulge my
interests in femininity and produce
a lot of work on that subject. But it
has been difficult too, stay here, in a
little town as Treviso,coming from the
chaos of urban London... it sometimes
feels like I was put in a weird cabin
in the woods.
What have you learnt?
I have learned at Fabrica that some
of my work is too difficult for people
to engage with, because the subject
matter is too delicate, and then
people are reluctant to give me
feedback about it, so I don’t see
the mistakes that are in the work.
So, I have learned to always talk to
people at every step in the process,
making sure that people feel
comfortable enough with the work
to engage with it, or at least give
me feedback about it.
What is feminism 2 today to you?
New Feminism is about valuing
and congratulating men and women
for their differences. It is about
women not trying to be men and
understanding why they are different
and special as women. And it is about
mennottryingtocontrolthem.
I think that these new ideals are
slowly becoming reality, but I wish
more people were confident in
talking about them. Just working
in Italy for a year, seeing that the
old-fashioned gender roles are still
at play here, has actualized this for
me.Idon’ttrytoconveymyown
opinions or offer a solution. I just
try to get people to talk about it.
I want to generate discussion,
talk, to get people to speak openly.
And then things become a bit easier
for everyone!
· · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
· · · · · · · · · · · ·