About Frieda Graf

I had just begun my studies in ceramics in the Westerwald and intended to create a life-size “father figure,” for which I produced numerous glaze tests. These had to be large enough to show how the color, surface, and flow behavior of each glaze behaved. Out of these phallic-appearing studies, I developed the first ceramic dildos and subsequently the edition Jorinde and Joringel.

The enclosed shapes and the various shades of blue in the ceramics provoked associations with nativity scenes and images of Mary. Continuing that thread I approached Marian depictions since the Renaissance. The edition Madonna  interprets individual works as dildo and pouch. For the planned Marian cycle the subjects of Virginity, Conception, Pregnancy, and Motherhood of Mary are to be realized — the first two have already been executed.

FRIEDA GRAF was my grandmother and now gives her name to this multifaceted project, which has already inspired and encouraged many to relate their own sexuality and spirituality to history and society. The label is part of my artistic work, in which I often engage with biographical themes.

Charlotte Pohle