DŽAMIL KAMANGER – Working in Public Space

Working in Public Space
Kalle Hamm and Dzamil Kamanger
2012
Video, HD PAL, 16:9, stereo, 28′

Lungotevere dei Sangallo, Rome; Lungotevere dei Tebaldi I, Rome; Lungotevere dei Tebaldi II, Rome; Jewish Cemetery I, Prague; Jewish Cemetery II, Prague; Jewish CemeteryIII, Prague; Ilica 99, Zagreb; Ilica 115, Zagreb; Ilica 199, Zagreb
2012
9 color photographs, 70 x 100 cm

 
A series of photographs Working in Public Space shows performances by Dzamil Kamanger in Rome, Prague and Zagreb, where he displaces traditional Iranian embroidery from the private to the public sphere, and at the same time from a traditionally female to a traditionally male sphere. The motif of embroidery – of a visa (not) granted – becomes a trigger in raising the question of the political and economic emigrants’ position. Whilst the performance realised at the Jewish cemetery in Prague associates historical forms of fascism with the, often hidden, contemporary ones, the performances in Rome, on the bank of the river Tevere, where the most vulnerable strata of society reside, and Zagreb, in front of the small closed down shops in Ilica, raise the question of migrants who, as a rule, with or without visas, only serve as cheap labour in the new world.

Dzamil Kamanger (1948, IR) is an Iranian Kurd based in Helsinki. In his work he is concerning with his own experiences as a refugee by using traditional Iranian handicraft techniques. He has been collaborating with Kalle Hamm since 1999 although both of them also work independently. Together they have worked on several art projects dealing with the position of marginality in mainstream culture and the complexity of the multiple identities. They have also shown an interest in global networks, for example the traveling routes of plants and food ingredients. They work with video, photography and site-specific art works and interventions in public spaces. See also: www.beelsebub.org.