Yasuna Iman
: THE NATURAL WORLD IS FULL OF SYMBOLS, METAPHORS, AND ANALOGIES THAT CONSISTENTLY MOVE ME TO CREATE. THE FORM EVOLVES AS I DO, BUT THE SUBJECT MATTER IS THIS: MOVEMENT, TRANSFORMATION. :
JULY’s artists discussion with PAINTER & SCULPTURIST :YASUNA IMAN:
Thank you for taking this time to be here with me in conversation & sharing your stories with everyone in this space.
May you take this time to introduce yourself to us & talk about what has brought you to where you are today within your creative processes.
My name is Yasuna Iman. Lately, I find myself wanting to move away from defining who I am and what I do, by the creative methods or even material I use, as these ebb and flow… The constant though, is that I observe transience in and all around us, and seek ways to translate what I see into form. The natural world feeds my reflections in multiple ways: its in the forest that I find the matter of my works, still in its initial state. I also see nature as the ultimate mirror of our impermanence and fragility, themes that have fascinated me for a long time now, and that I have been investigating in the use of materials that carry within themselves the notion of fleetingness. Botanical pigments, for instance, change over time. They shift from one shade to another, some deepen, some fade. Rust, on the other hand, doesn’t. It is more stable than natural dyes but it is the byproduct of decay, a transformation leading to disintegration. We too are subjected to this phenomenon. We evolve, we gain in wisdom, and eventually, we disappear. The natural world is full of symbols, metaphors, and analogies that consistently move me to create. The form evolves as I do, but the subject matter is this: movement, transformation. Texture is really important to me as well. I use it to trigger the senses of the viewer, to encourage them to tap into this very primal art of their being that wants them to use their body to engage with the world. Writing also informs visual art a lot, and I believe is the other side of the same coin. I process a lot of my experiences through writing and when it seems I reached the limits of words, I move beyond it through visual expression. The opposite also goes, its an endless dance between mind and body.
A series of seemingly unrelated events brought me here, but I suppose all is connected on the path towards purpose… I was born and raised in Paris, France, where I spent all my life until I felt it was time to see something else. I moved to Berlin in 2016, with the desire to “become an artist”, whatever I thought it meant at the time. I have always found solace and inhibited pleasure in creative expression; I don’t think I ever questioned that this would be my life. I studied Art History and Archeology back in Paris, not because I wanted to become an art historian or an archeologist (although, both of these fields have greatly informed my work in ways that are clearer now) . I chose this path of study with a tranquil yet solid awareness that there was meaning in understanding what was, in order to aspire and ultimately, embody. On the way, I found that being an artist, didn’t necessarily mean following anyone’s footsteps or walking down a clear path. The meaning was more intimate and didn’t really come from outer circumstances. I didn’t go to art school, which isn’t a big deal at all nowadays, but the moment I realized this wouldn’t be a stop on my journey was quite decisive, a turning point of sorts that brought me back to this inner knowing firmly embedded in my since I was a child: I simply wanted a life of creating and offering beauty to others, in whatever way felt honest and true to me.
Thank you for sharing so deeply Yasuna, it's beautiful to have such a vast array of inspiration for your work & not being tied to one way of working, simply creating what is going on in & around you in the present to drive you forward in your creative process.
I would love to know how you process your forest findings & how they get from their natural state to be a fundamental part of your work.
I wander in the forests surrounding Berlin to gather the natural fibers at the core of the Paperscapes, wall sculptures made from the flesh of fallen maple trees. Maple isn’t typically used for papermaking, but it grows abundantly in the region, making it a generous local resource of fibers.
These maple fibers are washed, cooked, and washed again. Then, begins the metamorphosis of the wood into pulp. This long, intense, and physically demanding step is an important part of the process. I believe the resilient work of the hands to be as meaningful as the completed piece. The fibers are long beaten by hand on a grinding stone, then mixed with natural sealants and binders.
I consider Paperscapes to be fragments of nature, emulating the patterns and textures of the natural world. They are fully handmade using traditional peper processes but without a mold or deckle. Their shapes are freely made by hand and inspired by the organic forms founds in nature.
In contrast to their dense aspect, the Paperscapes are very light and mounted to give the illusion that they are floating over the wall. There is no right way to look at or engage with a Paperscape either. They are conceived to be flipped upside down, left and right, interacted with, and observed from different perspectives.
I often use leftover pulp to add texture and dimension to paintings on wood panels as well.
It's beautiful to create with what is thriving around us, drawing us back to nature & connecting ourselves back to the land we live upon.
When creating your collections do you work on one piece at a time or as a whole collective, going back & forth between works? & Do you have an idea in your head beforehand about how you want each piece to look & to work together?
I usually go back and forth between works, either simultaneously or I would start a piece, take a break from it for a few weeks, start another one and go back to the first one. Sometimes I do like to challenge myself to work on one piece at a time, though. This enables me to explore different ways of operating in the creative space and really immersive myself in the interaction with the piece from start to finish, especially when it’s a really large one. However, flowing between works really is the most natural to me and this is also probably why I tend to release artworks as a collective, or at the very least, as a pair.
The idea I have in my head before starting is more of a feeling, and its not always very tangible. I might envision textures, tones, and composition but ultimately, it seems like I have better access to the way I wish the piece to feel rather than the way I want it to look. My process is very intuitive in this way and relies more on observation of the way the materials interact with one another rather than planning something specific. If I make plans, they change in one way or another. Often times, a piece also informs the next one, and the one after that. When I have an idea ( or a feeling) in mind for a body of work, I do consider the way the pieces will work together but I hardly ever “write” the whole story beforehand. I write a chapter and as I go, the events of the next chapter start to happen by themselves and I respond to them. By the time the story reaches the end, I get a sense that it aligns with the feeling I initially had, but I can still be surprised by the way the twist and turns unfolded. I really hold onto this sense of surprise in my process, it keeps things interesting and it keeps me alert.
It's interesting to hear how other artists approach this part of creating, I personally can't have more than one thing going around in my head at once so working on one piece at a time is what works best for me without getting overwhelmed. Hearing how you create your pieces, it's so intuitive & free flowing.
Are there any new areas you're exploring or expanding your knowledge in with the new work you create?
Yes, I’ve been involving wild clay in my works, both in my wall sculptures and in my paintings to add dimension, relief, and texture. In my latest body of work Bare, I created textured paintings and sculpted the edges with clay to give them more of an organic shape. These explorations really seem to have sparked something for me I feel really called to dive into deeper. I have also been using clay as an earth pigment as well and I am interested in harvesting different kinds of clays and soils to create a wide range of shades. Without stepping into the world of ceramics (although I am absolutely fascinated by it and some of my favorite artists are ceramicists), clay and especially hand-foraged wild clay is something I had been wanting to involve in my work for a long time.
I love that you have found a new natural material to create with that fills you with so much excitement, I have never had the pleasure of working with wild clay but can imagine it is a wonderful, textural earth material which emits endless possibilities when held.
Yasuna, I wanted to say a massive thank you for taking the time to have this discussion with me about your work, it has been so lovely to get to know a bit more about your processes & inspirations, your work is a pleasure for my eyes & my mind. I look forward to seeing your next collection of works!
Thank you so much Jessica for a beautiful exchange and such thoughtful questions. It was a pleasure to be introspective in regards to my practice and share these reflections with you.
All photos are taken by Johannes Berger
You can purchase works from Yasuna’s most recent collection ‘Bare’ through her website below.
Follow along with Yasuna’s creative journey through her social media.