The German-Iranian artist shares with Chiasmo his unique approach to the arts.
Multicultural and eclectic: these are the most appropriate adjectives to describe the body of work of Damun Jawanrudi, a 28-year-old German-Iranian artist currently based in New York. Born and raised in Cologne from an Iranian family of political refugees, Jawanrudi graduated in 2015 in Architecture at the RWTH Aachen University. Post graduation he worked at the studio of the famous architect duo Herzog & de Meuron in Hamburg. He then moved in the United States to pursue his career goals, enrolling in the Master of Architecture program at Cornell University in Ithaca, where he graduated in 2022. While active in the architecture field, Jawanrudi has always been engaged with the visual arts, exploring his more intimate and imaginative side. His artistic works embrace different kinds of media and, despite being highly personal, are meant to be read and interpreted according to one’s feelings and perception. His eclectic nature is reflected not only in his propensity to employ various techniques, but also in the areas in which he operates: in fact, Jawanrudi divides himself between architecture, scenography, design, fashion, and figurative art. He now continues to produce artistic works in his studio in Manhattan, while working as a production designer at Yellow Studio. With this interview we unravel the versatile, multilayered world of this peculiar artist.
GRETA CAVALLI: Hi Damun, nice to meet you. Would you please introduce yourself to Chiasmo’s readers?
DAMUN JAWANRUDI: Wonderful meeting you, Greta. Thank you for having me, this is very exciting. Hey everyone, my name is Damun. There are a bunch of myths and legends about how to pronounce my name and there is no absolute “right” way, really. It’s a Persian name that I am used to hearing with a German pronunciation growing up. For non-Persian speakers, I try to explain that it’s somewhere around “dah-moon”. Italians and Italian speakers should have no problem pronouncing it.
I have encountered many people with various meanings of my name, but the one I like the most and choose to believe in is that Damun (or دامون in Persian) describes the light that hits the mist in the forest. Ok, enough about my name.
GC: Iranian descent, German-born, and now resident in New York. How does your multicultural background influence your work?
DJ: Yes, indeed multicultural. I always tell people “It’s a bit complicated” when they ask me where I am from. I have always had this cultural inner conflict. The German culture and Iranian culture are very different, there is a strong contrast, which I find beautiful, but it is also challenging. Growing up, I was surrounded by Iranian culture at home and exposed to German culture the moment I stepped out of the house. It forced me to be intentional about the values and ideologies I believed in since I have always had a pool of cultures to pick from, instead of one given path to follow. That often made me become my own biggest critic, my German-influenced side would argue against my Iranian-influenced side and vice versa. Although difficult at times and often confusing, I appreciate that I was able to question my environment constantly and be fluid in my way of seeing the world, finding my very own individual direction instead of looking at a given final script.
Like many immigrant kids, there was also an identity struggle connected to my multicultural upbringing. When I was young, I was the “Iranian guy” when I was at school, but for my family in Iran I was the “German”. Basically, I was always “the other” and “non-belonging” which can bring up confusing questions, but also allowed me to stay open to what human connections I actually felt drawn to rather than a simple categorization by national belonging.
Both, the German, and the Iranian culture have been a big part of my life by co-existing. I would never describe myself as German or Iranian, but always as German-Iranian. Adding in the layer of New York – where I have been living for more than half a decade – just brings more depth to this complexity. As tacky as it sounds, my work feels like an expression and a reflection of me or at least parts of me. That being said, everything I have described about my personal multicultural debates finds itself in my work and its process as well. A lot of the work I create is a result of discussions and disputes executed by the brush. There is a constant process of layering – adding, subtracting, rethinking, compromising, uncompromising, a back and forth, a dance, so to speak.
GC: You divide yourself between architecture – your field of study – and fashion, scenography, design and visual art. Are there any differences in your approach to them? Do you manage to keep them separated or do you let them intertwine?
DJ: That’s a great question. They are definitely all overlapping and coming from the same source – me. However, I try to keep most or all of my personal work free from restrictions or requirements. I create my personal work when I am inspired and I let it turn to wherever it takes me, it’s a very simple formula. Whereas my professional work as a production designer or an architectural designer is always bound to a brief and a client. My personal work does not have a client, the work itself is the client. Rarely, I enjoy a brief to an open call and submit my previous work that responds well, but I never create work for a brief (don’t tell anyone I said that). My work is usually highly anti-conceptual and immensely visceral and emotional. The moment I start turning on my brain and actively thinking about and planning what to do next or about an end result, I stop.
GC: Which artists – historical or contemporary – inspire you?
DJ: Pooh, there are so many artists or people who are not labeled as artists that I am strongly inspired by. I always blank when I get asked this question. I am in awe of creatives, in any field. However, let me mention some all-time favorites so I don’t disappoint.
I have always had a weirdly intimate connection to the works of Gerhard Richter, maybe because his studio is in my hometown of Cologne and that creates a sense of familiarity. I empathize a lot with his works in many ways – the layering, the blurring, the scaling, the contrasting, the processing, the precision, the list goes on.
Another person’s work that I have been feeling deeply in line with is Abbas Kiarostami. Amongst other things, he was an Iranian film director and has created some of the most beautiful films like Taste of Cherry and Where Is The Friend’s House?. I feel touched and captivated every time I sit in front of one of his films. They capture the seemingly mundane in such a magical way that it leaves me speechless and oddly connected to places and people I have never encountered. Ok, I will do one more. My first job as an architectural designer after school was at Herzog & de Meuron. I am a little embarrassed, but I have to admit that I had no idea who they were when I applied for a job. I know now, I promise. Anyway, back to my response – I don’t think there is any architectural office that can compare to the sheer creativity and the diverse expressions of Herzog & de Meuron. To this day, I am still fascinated by how they have been relevantly designing – mostly timeless – buildings for over four decades.
GC: Painting, watercolor, charcoal, photography, video art, performance: you navigate different media with agility. Do you have a preferred one? Would you like to experiment with other techniques?
DJ: Yes, I enjoy learning different media and techniques. I like learning the basics and seeing where I can go with that knowledge and how that can leave opportunities open for me to make mistakes or find creative ways that are usually not the way you “should” use something. I have to say that I am not a fan of being formally taught something. I used to be in art class and had the most admirable teacher who would just encourage me to be fearless when it comes to expressing myself and to “free” myself. To this day I use her advice on a lot of parts of my life.
I don’t think I have a preferred one, I like the diversity and my versatility. However, I can say that I am most certainly someone who is attracted by rough techniques – it doesn’t matter if it’s paint or clay, I don’t like to work in detail and precision or to work on one tiny spot for hours and hours. I like big brushes, soft charcoals, messy oil pastels, large canvases, and papers.
I have just started to experiment with clothing with my new sewing machine about a year ago. I was clueless about how to use it but these days you can find a guide for anything online. Same thing with my film camera – I found it in my father’s basement when I was visiting a couple of years back and obviously stole it right away. I did some quick research and here I am, taking photos anywhere I travel to.
GC: True to your eclectic nature, your recent corpus of works, the series Untitled (https://www.damunjawanrudi.com/untitled), is a multimedia experience. What topics do you touch on with this series? What do you want to convey to the viewers?
DJ: I always have difficulties talking about my work. This has two parts.
Part one. I never look at my completed work through the eyes of “the author”. As I mentioned earlier, I disconnect from intentional, active thoughts and let myself be guided by what you could call a gut feeling. To answer the question of what I want to convey to the viewers in simple terms – “nothing”. After a project is completed, I take the same position as everybody else and experience the work as an audience rather than someone who has created it, it’s as if I wake up from a trance. You will never find an artist statement describing my work, only a context of how the work has been created. Who am I to tell you, the person experiencing my work, what to think or feel when you’re standing in front of it. This process was especially interesting to go through in this project where I was able to see myself and my work in the expressions of new media and a new context.
That being said – as someone who revisited this project as a viewer, I was fascinated by the many subtle hints at various topics in this film – belonging, death, identity, time and timelessness, perspective, light, space, decay, memory, order, the ordinary, latent potential, patriotism, and so much more which brings me to part 2.
Part two. Let me try to explain why I cannot explain. My father writes poetry. Beautiful, abstract, metaphoric poetry. To me, most of it reads as nonsense. His writing is highly personal, connected to his experiences, translated from one culture into another, and feels like it is coded in various ways. When I read them, I cannot tell you what they mean, but I can tell you that I find them incredibly powerful, touching and that they create a sense of intimacy. The same thing is the case when I see a film or listen to music – I don’t know what the author of those works is trying to tell me all the time, nor do I always care, but I feel connected to it or I don’t, for whatever reason. I trust in this feeling, and it is one of the things I enjoy most – being in awe and captured by work that I “do not comprehend”. I find that there is a thing beyond structural understanding where you feel like you have been reached by the work. Who really “understands” a clear black night sky with thousands of stars shimmering down at them?! (the answer is: “no one”). But we all get a certain feeling when we look up and observe. I am comfortable not translating this feeling into words, but leaving it in its original state, untouched.
All of this just to encourage you – take a look and create your own picture, it’s online!
GC: What are your upcoming projects? Can you give us an insight into your next steps?
DJ: I have actually been feeling an inspiring wind coming my way and am currently planning a series of work for next year. I have no clue what medium it will be or in which direction it will go, but I can feel something exciting is cooking. A lot of my creative energy has been occupied and used for my professional work, but I just settled in my new studio in New York and feel like it’s time to focus on my private work again. I am also looking forward to collaborating with some of my creative friends whose work I honor. Who knows, maybe you will see me exhibiting next year again, fingers crossed!
GC: Would you like to come to Italy? Are there some places or artworks you want to see? In which art spaces would you like to exhibit your art pieces?
DJ: I have been to Italy many times, mostly as a kid for family vacations. On one travel to Rome when I was older, I forced my mother to join me to as many museums as we could visit for four days. She is still traumatized to this day. But to answer your question – yes, I would absolutely love to come back to Italy. Luckily for me, my good friends recently bought a stunning 19th-century villa with a beautiful stone façade in Perugia. They have just renovated the entire place and I have been promised that there will be a pool this summer. So, I am waiting impatiently with my swimsuit in my hand and cannot wait to go!
I never have any specific places or artworks in mind that define where I travel. I like ending up at the most random places when I travel and encounter beauty. I guess my point is that I don’t like to look for places or artworks, but I find pleasure in places or artworks finding me instead. That feels a lot more special to me.
I am always super open to any potential exhibition spaces. The only thing that is important to me is actual space and a place that is free of clutter, where my work can breathe. That is my only requirement. Ah, well, and a place where people can just wander around freely, not having anyone following them explaining my work.
Greta Cavalli
Chiasmo Magazine 