playing by new rules: a conversation with pauline omnes of jaco-mnes

ELISAVET FAKOU: Okay, let’s start with the Delhi project. You gave these tailors some very specific instructions, but then you mentioned you didn’t want to negotiate. What was that like? 

PAULINE OMNES: So actually I didn’t want to negotiate at all. I had done that in the past with Anemone Splash, you know, arguing over the fit, the pattern, the little details. I didn’t want to be in that power dynamic anymore. I just wanted to enjoy the process and let the tailors show their own character. So we came with these small boxes, each with six buttons, a drawing, and a note, and gave the same ones to each tailor. 

EF: Like a game.

PO: Exactly, it was meant to be playful. I was kind of tired of always trying to erase the personality of the maker. This time, I wanted to see what would happen if we invited it in. It was an experiment in letting go.

EF: And did all of them say yes?

PO: Out of six, four accepted. A couple said it wasn’t their style, or they didn’t feel comfortable. But the four who did, they had a lot of questions. They were intrigued. And honestly, the conversations we had with them were part of the artwork.

EF: You told them to choose a blue fabric, but like the sky in New Delhi, right? 

PO: Yes, and that was very deliberate. The sky there is rarely one color, so that allowed them some freedom. We picked the fabric with them, in those tiny shops, like three square meters, some of them. It became this shared moment, even before the coats were made.

EF: What about the fitting?

PO: They were so resistant to the idea of oversize. For them, good tailoring is close to the body. So I invented a sister, taller, fuller, shy. She needed a big coat to feel comfortable. One tailor even asked to see her photo. I had to say she didn’t like being photographed. 

EF: That’s brilliant. Did you interact with them while they were making the coats?

PO: No, that was one of the rules. Ten days. No updates. Then I came back and saw what they had done.

EF: Were the results what you expected?

PO: Not at all! Some coats looked like they belonged to a child wearing their father’s jacket. One had shoulder pads so intense they changed the entire silhouette. But I accepted everything. That was the point. Not to judge, just to observe.

EF: Let’s talk about Knob. That started in your kitchen?

PO: It started in my kitchen, when Alexis made a few knobs for the cabinets. We realized how nice it felt to touch something handmade every day. So we kept going. We ended up making more than 200 of them, by hand, pressing the clay with our fingers. Same gesture each time, but each result was different.

EF: Were you thinking about function at that point?

PO: Not really. It was more about repetition. About losing ourselves in the making. We didn’t use molds or measurements, just our hands and the feel of the clay. It became a kind of meditation.

EF: And then you installed them in this abandoned house?

PO: Yes, a transitional space. No one had lived there for a while, and no one would for a year. It was this in-between state. Like the objects themselves, they could be used or just looked at. You can decide if they’re useful or just beautiful. 

EF: There’s a lot about routine and dailiness in what you do.

PO: Definitely. I think repetition opens up new meanings. You do the same thing again and again, and suddenly, it becomes something else. You get bored, you fantasize, your body remembers. It’s a way of thinking through making.

EF: How do you keep track of all these objects?

PO: We made a register. Each knob has its own number, photo, weight. For each knob there are two pages in the registry. When someone takes one, we tear one of the two pages from our book. The second stays with us. It’s like an archive and a ritual at the same time.

EF: That’s beautiful. One last question, what keeps you coming back to these projects of slowness and variation? 

PO: I think it's the potential. Repetition isn’t just repetition. It’s discovery. It’s how things grow and transform without needing to be perfect. And honestly, I’m just curious. Curious what happens next.