Jasmin Gerat

actress – Berlin

Jasmin Gerat started her career in 1994 when she won the “Girl and Boy” model contest and then moved on to TV, hosting programmes like Bravo TV as successor to Heike Makatsch and working for MTV Germany. Only a few years later she turned to acting, which has been her main focus and passion ever since. After switching between TV and cinema appearances as well as some selected theatre plays, 2014 has already been an exciting year since she landed one of the main roles in the thriller series “The Team”, an international cooperation led by the German public channel ZDF. We can’t wait to see the results!

In the meantime we are very happy to welcome Jasmin Gerat as our friend. She is one of those German actresses who tend to stick in your mind – not only because of her acting talent but also thanks to this unique feel-good energy that she exudes.

What is the most important sense to you? Why?
I am extremely grateful for the gift that I can use all my senses. But if I had to choose one it would be my sight.
I am a very visual person. I love to observe everything. And to connect to other souls through my eyes is one of the most powerful things to me.

As an actress and presenter you are at home in many places. What is your vision for your personal work?
To me it’s all about being truthful and authentic to myself and the people around me, as much as possible – no matter which profession I choose.

You were born and raised in Berlin and you are still loyal to the German capital. Which location in Berlin do you love to see everyday?
I love to go to the Grunewald as often as I can. And of course I am in love with the Tempelhofer Feld. The atmosphere created by the light there is stunning.

What is the most beautiful thing you ever saw?
My daughter.

What would you like to see more often?
The sun and people smiling.

When was the last time you gave back and what did you do?
I just smiled at a stranger for no specific reason. She smiled back. I had butterflies in my belly. I guess we both made our day.

What is your tactic for making the world a better place?
Making conscious decisions every day and no matter how tough and challenging it can be sometimes: try to choose love!

Who is your personal hero?
Nature.

What is your picture for IWISHUSUN?

A bright neon pink shooting star with warm, golden glitter raining down on ALL of us.

Introduced to you through our interview, from Saturday on our friend and Milan-based artist Marco “Pho” Grassi will show his latest works at Circle Culture Gallery Hamburg (read his interview with IWISHUSUN here). The solo show which is titled [Plù-ri-mo] will overview his most recent artistic research by displaying a selection of multiple materials (“Walls”), ceramics, works on paper  (“Monotypes”), as well as his new “Rayographies” – even though he variegates materials, concepts and techniques, at the second glance all seem to be connected with each other and keep a coherent aesthetic. No matter what media Grassi has chosen, the used material enters into a direct dialogue with its medium provided.

The “Walls” series which Grassi started in 2012 is composed of found objects and detritus from urban public spaces that he utilises as a subsurface for his strong and expressive abstract paintings. The artist also presents a new series of ceramics which were crafted in collaboration with the famous crocker Marco Tortarolo in 2013. As with ceramics, the “Monotypes” paper works – also part of the exhibition - emphasize the intrinsic need of the artist to commence a dialogue with different materials. Furthermore, Grassi introduces two selected “Rayographies” of his most recent project called “Le Grand Verre” that were produced in collaboration with the artist Matteo Bologna.

If you are in Hamburg, make sure you don’t miss the show! Check out a preview of his exhibited works here.

Jenne Grabowski

musician and designer – Berlin

“I like stories, and I am a storyteller in my particular way either when I am playing music or making design or art,” says Jenne Grabowski about himself. And be sure, you can’t slow him down: Jenne is a Berlin-based musician, a designer and the founder and art director of JB. Magazine, an indie magazine which celebrates the interplay of the arts, music and street culture. It’s all about movement, change and creative visions but never about giving yourself up to the fast pace of life today. His topics are well-chosen and include extensive interviews with a personal touch, loads of art, photos and selected works.

Whenever Jenne is not busy searching for interesting people and topics or working on a new design project, you can find him either on the skateboard or behind the mixing desk. He has been playing all around Germany, i.e. some of Berlin’s most well-know clubs like WMF, Panorama Bar, Bar 25, Café Moskau, Watergate or Cookies. Also, Jenne acted as the tour DJ of The Whitest Boy Alive on their “The Patience” tour through Germany. This circumstance gets us down to a beautiful liaison between three of our supporters: Jenne is friends with DENA and hand in glove with Marcin Oz and we are glad to have found supporters in all of them, true to the motto: “Support each other. Together we are strong!”

A very warm welcome!

What is more important to you, the sense of taste or sight? 
If I’d loose sight, I would still be able to taste all the yummy food. Or I could still see the sun shining while everything tastes neutral. Damn, both are important and I hope I can keep those senses forever.

You are a creative person. What is your vision for your personal work?
I want people to explore a little something that could be common or special, to find something of themselves. I like stories, and I am a storyteller in my particular way either when I am playing music or making design or art. Balancing humour and seriousness, relevance and vanity, extent and detail.

JB. Magazine covers the arts, music, and street culture. Is it your personal mouthpiece? Who do you want to reach and what is your intention?
Yes, you can call it my personal mouthpiece that is influenced by a bunch of people, animals, things and whatever involved, making it happen. JB. is about telling stories. The stories of others, my personal stories, those of my friends, of dreams and how we shape our reality. I want JB. to reach out to people that are awake and share a sense of awareness while I am not focussing too much on a particular culture. Of course, sharing certain kinds of interests makes me able to connect more easily with other people, and this is important to me. It fills this project with power. When I think of the magazine and the potential reader, I don’t know anything about the person flipping or reading or wandering through our editorial world. But if I reach out to people who are not necessarily using the same colors to paint that I would, but making them think about the colors or listen to a sound that hasn’t been audible in their lives before, then that would be one very important accomplishment.

To what extent does Berlin, your place of residence, exert influence on your work but also your personal way of life?
It surely does, but after such a long time living in Berlin, I cannot state the extent of it anymore. I have family in this town, so many friends, skate-spots, art, music or work, the countryside around where I am meeting foxes and squirrels and trying to hang with beavers… Everyone has a large share at it. Kreuzberg is my home, it’s the basis of my current chapter in life but I am always eager to wander out to explore new places and spaces, close and far away.

„We slow down when everything is going fast“ – this sentence is part of your mission statement and seems to reflect your main intention. What is your personal advice for coming down?
We love what we do and we are progressing and moving in the forward direction. But we are not submitting ourselves to the fast-moving nature of our world and to the compulsion of cultural change. Though the only constant is change, we are taking it really easy. Both feet on the ground as we can’t fly. Well, sometimes we can… If something is not happening now, we can wait with ease for another good moment because the next moment will always be the best.

Print was declared dead when online magazines got stronger and stronger. But you still believe in the power of print. What makes it so unique to you?
“Punk was dead when the first punk said: Punk is dead!” This is nothing nostalgic, it is a serious thing. Somehow we are fulfilling a desire that had been there for so long. It is also the wish to have something real in a digitized world. We are digitizing our brains day in day out. It is something for the tactile perception. Watching, reading, cutting, folding, tearing out a piece of art and altering it into new art, or hanging it on the wall, sharing issues or articles, burning the paper. It’s like having sex instead of thinking of it. Sometimes the thought is enough, but reality can be pretty sweet.

What is the most beautiful thing you ever saw?
I love and hate superlatives. And it’s hard to pin down a single moment or thing to claim it the most beautiful. But I would say it was the birth of my son Henri, because this magic was not happening on this planet.

What would you like to see more often?
People with courage and presence. James Turrell skyspaces. The real mountains. Or a James Turrell skyspace in the mountains, like the one in Switzerland I found last summer. The sea. The skateboard under my feet. My friends that I love but live to far away, even just to see them for a high five…

What do you prefer: sunrise or sunset?
I love both. Including the twilight. Sunset is about ending, which can be really dramatic. But the aesthetic, the transition is such a beautiful thing. The sunrise is always the beginning of something new. The unfolding, the flourishing, watching it all grow and not knowing where it will take us.

When was the last time you gave back and what did you do?
Giving should be natural in order to receive. But always without expecting anything in return.

What is your tactic for making the world a better place?
Staying in the now and keeping in my mind that life is actually about nothing. No faster, stronger, better, whatever. It all just happens in its own pace. Just give up! That is the formula.

Who is your personal hero?
No glorifying, but it could be a long list. If I think of someone next door, it would be my son who just drew me a complex weather chart, my good friend who just borrowed me a piano or the other who connected me to one of my most favorite street photographer from New York!

What is your picture/sound for IWISHUSUN?
Picture: the fall leaves and the golden sun in the woods the other day.
Sound: the sound of my skateboard I am riding on down the street by the sea while I am humming.

Did we forget to mention that Jenne takes beautiful pictures, too?! Check out his photos here.

A few weeks ago we presented our first creative partner project and our first short film, the result of a cooperation between Berlin-based composer and music producer Robot Koch and the photographer Sabrina Theissen. For “In a Creative Dialogue – Robot Koch x Sabrina Theissen for IWISHUSUN” our ambassadors got together to take a look at the topic of sight, which IWISHUSUN has dedicated its work to.

The process and the thoughts of the two IWISHUSUN ambassadors are documented in intense imagery in Editude Pictures’ short film, “In a Creative Dialogue – Robot Koch x Sabrina Theissen for IWISHUSUN”:

Thank you for this nice photo, Marco Pho Grassi. You are your jacket are a perfect match!

We don’t mind the cold because our ultralight down jackets keep us warm! Check out our down jackets that will keep you warm and at the same finance a cataract operation in Bangladesh with every jacket sold. Shop them here.

Also, donÄt miss to check out Marco’s interview with IWISHUSUN here.

Photo: Marco Pho Grassi.

Look who is wearing our logo T-shirt: our friend and owner & director of Soze Gallery, Toowee Kao.

Toowee Kao is a gallerist and private art dealer who represents two of our ambassadors at her Los Angeles-based Soze Gallery: Jaybo Monk and Augustine Kofie. But also for all the other young contemporary artists who are entrusted in her care Toowee Kao is an essential supporter since she is not only a natural talent when it comes to art business but also aims to make being an artist a little less hard in every way and offers an artist residency in downtown Los Angeles for Sozes Gallery’s international artists. In short: Toowee Kao has got her eyes on the future of art and never stops impressing us with her power; she supports young contemporary artists in their creative pursuit of success and happiness.

Read her interview with IWISHUSUN here.

Photo: Soze Gallery via Instagram.

A few days ago we presented our first creative partner project and our first short film, the result of a cooperation between Berlin-based composer and music producer Robot Koch and the photographer Sabrina Theissen. For “In a Creative Dialogue – Robot Koch x Sabrina Theissen for IWISHUSUN” our ambassadors got together to take a look at the topic of sight, which IWISHUSUN has dedicated its work to.

Here you can see Sabrina Theissen at work:

The result: a photographic tryptich which is shown below. The sky and the sun are the determining motifs, which, in a similarly minimalist way as the song by Robot Koch, are captured only indirectly by reflection, allowing the greatest possible space for the unexpected aspects of ones own interpretations in their complete reduction – a playing field for one’s own way of seeing and perspectives.

The process and the thoughts of the two IWISHUSUN ambassadors are documented in intense imagery in Editude Pictures’ short film, “In a Creative Dialogue – Robot Koch x Sabrina Theissen for IWISHUSUN”:

Wir freuen uns sehr, das erste kreative Partnerprojekt und unseren ersten Kurzfilm vorzustellen, der aus der Zusammenarbeit zweier Botschafter aus unserem immer größer werdenden Netzwerk entstanden ist: „In A Creative Dialogue – Robot Koch x Sabrina Theissen“.

Der Berliner Komponist sowie Musikproduzent Robot Koch und die Fotografin Sabrina Theissen haben sich zusammengetan, um das Thema des Sehens, dem sich IWISHUSUN verschrieben hat, von kreativer Seite aus zu betrachten. Dafür stellte Robot Koch seinen brandneuen Song „Jupiter“ zur Verfügung, von dessen Melodien sich Sabrina Theissen inspirieren ließ und mit dem obigen Triptychon fotografisch darauf antwortet. Der Himmel und die Sonne werden hier zum bestimmenden Motiv, das in ebenso minimalistischer Manier wie Robot Kochs Song durch Reflektionen nur indirekt eingefangen wird und in aller Reduktion dem Unvorhersehbaren, der eigenen Interpretation den größten Raum einräumt – ein Spielraum für das eigene Sehen und die eigenen Sichtweisen.

Diesen Prozess und die Gedanken der beiden IWISHUSUN-Botschafter dokumentiert der gleichnamige Kurzfilm „In A Creative Dialogue – Robot Koch x Sabrina Theissen für IWISHUSUN“ in intensiven Bildern:

Unser Dank gilt Robot Koch, Sabrina Theissen sowie Frederic Leitzke und Andreas Lamøth von Editude Pictures, die den kreativen Austausch filmisch eingefangen haben!

Die Interviews von Robot Koch, Sabrina Theissen und Editude Pictures mit IWISHUSUN können Sie hier nachlesen.

Did you know that our friend, film producer and co-founder of Editude Pictures, Frederic Leitzke, is also a DJ? As one half of the duo, Jazoburbs, or as efalive, he has been bringing beats to crowds since 2003. Now Freunde von Freunden, an international interview magazine that portraits people of diverse creative and cultural backgrounds in their homes or within their daily working environments but presents its own mixtapes on the corresponding blog, too, asked Frederic to select his favorite songs. The result is a mixtape which is definitely worth a listen, featuring Mount Kimbie, Schwarz Dont Crack, Super Flu, &ME among others.

Listen to Frederic’s Freunde von Freunden Mixtape #65 here:

Frederic Leitzke’s Mixtape #65 tracklist:

01. Schwarz Dont Crack – Charade (Adana Twins On A Lonely Night Remix) /Kitsune, 2013/
02. Hanne & Lore – My Oh My /Monaberry, 2013/
03. Ten Walls – Requiem /Life And Death, 2013/
04. Mario Aureo & Manuel Moreno – Arosis (Sebo Remix) /Ritter Butzke Studio, 2013/
05. Chasing Kurt – Lose Myself /Suol, 2013/
06. Kölsch ft. Troels Abrahamsen – All That Matters (andhim Remix) /Kompakt, 2013/
07. Mount Kimbie – Made To Stray (DJ Koze Remix) /Warp, 2013/
08. Super Flu ft. Monkey Safari – Me Roar /Monaberry, 2013/
09. Riva Starr ft. Rssll – Absence (Adam Port Remix) /Snatch! Records, 2013/
10. &ME – Shallow /Keinemusik, 2013/
11. Matt Karmil – Reverse Peephole /IRR, 2013/

Check out Frederic’s interview with IWISHUSUN here.

Moreover, Frederik Frede who co-founded the website Freunde von Freunden showed his colours for IWISHUSUN, too. Read his interview here.

Frederic Leitzke & Andreas Lamoth

filmmakers & co-founders of Editude Pictures – Berlin

Together they are strong! Frederic Leitzke and Andreas Lamoth co-founded their own film production company Editude Pictures in late 2010. What started as a more or less improvised coalition of five friends, slowly but surely evolved into a young promising company. While music and art are definitely prioritised, both of them have also corporately worked for brands like Coca Cola, Levis, Red Bull and Converse. Nevertheless what we love the most are their urban films which are filled with their passion for street art, illustration, urban culture and music. No surprise that they are best-known for these kind of interactions. Their documentation of Berlin’s creative scene, “In The Belly Of A Whale,” is their first film and at the same time a foundation for many video works that followed.

While their first documentation strung together various filmic portraits of Berlin’s art scene members and is still complemented by new episodes, Frederic and Andreas also worked for our friend and music producer Robot Koch in the past. To unlock the exciting potential which arises from our creative supporters we teamed up with Editude Pictures and two of our other dear ambassadors – beautiful project which we will showcase very soon. Stay tuned!

In the meantime welcome Editude Pictures as one of our supporters!

You are filmmakers and therefore sight must be a very important sense to you. What other sense couldn’t be missed in your life? Why?
Andy: It’s really hard to imagine a life without any of my senses, but besides my eyes I would miss my ears the most of all I guess. For me vision is strongly connected to hearing which you can see in almost all of our films: Sound and especially Music is so important to set the right tone for moving images and are unseperable in my eyes.
Fredi: That’s for sure. Besides that I would probably miss tasting the most, because my hobby cooking wouldn’t make much “sense” anymore I guess.

What is your vision for your personal work? 
Andy: I hope to be working more in the field of documentaries in the future. There are tons of lives and people out there who are worth being banned to film and who’s stories are worth beeing told.
Fredi: Documentaries are very important to us for sure. Since our first film “In The Belly Of A Whale” lots of good things happened and we got great feedback for our work. That’s definitely a vision. Always try to do stuff that makes people happy, that entertains people, that has a purpose, that somehow “remains” in that crazy fast moving digital world.

Your personal opinion: what makes a good film? 
Andy: Authenticity. Most of the big blockbuster movies simply have no heart and are only produced for making money. So I really prefer movies with smaller or even no budgets for which the filmakers had to make a big creative effort to get it done.
Fredi: The story. Always the story. In the past, the story was the most important thing in a movie. Movies were made because writers and directors had things to say. Today it’s more about pleasing the market, the industry, the crowd with crazy effects, pompous settings, big stars, telling the same stupid stories again and again, using every cliché available. Of course today still many nice movies are made, but really good and innovative screenplays are definitely more rare than in the last century.

What filmmakers have inspired you lately?
Andy: I love Wes Anderson and am really looking forward to his new movie in January. Besides that I am really into short documentaries about everyday life, which you can find very easily by independent and hobby filmers on Vimeo.
Fredi: Yeah, Wes Anderson for sure. The filmmaker who inspired me the most recently was Malik Bendjelloui, director of the masterpiece “Searching for Sugar Man”. A man with an – again – absolutely amazing story, without a big budget, with lots of struggles during the production but with a strong vision and impressive skills succeeds in the end, brings his vision to the screen and creates one of the most beautiful documentaries ever made.

What themes do you find yourself exploring over and over again?
Both: We have a really strong bond into Berlin’s art scene, so it’s almost natural that we are exploring themes like creativity, making a living from what you love and collaborations between different kinds of people in our films. Besides that we are planing a new documentary about the new age of making music – hopefully we will start filming in 2014, watch out!

What is the most beautiful thing you ever saw?
Andy: That’s a tough one. I believe when you look close enough you can find beautiful things happening around you everyday, even (often mostly) in the most random and trivial situations.
Fredi: Impossible to answer.

Sunrise or sunset – what do you prefer?
Andy: Sunrise.
Fredi: Sunset.

As a seeing person it is hard, if not impossible, to imagine the world from the perspective of a blind person, and the same applies in reverse. How would you describe our world and surroundings to a blind person?
Both: We don’t think it’s fair trying to tell a blind person what the world looks like. We would rather try to find advantages which blind people have. For example we believe they have no problems with prejudice and are able to experience the world in very different but also exciting ways.

What would you like to see more often?
Andy: Justice.
Fredi: Humility.

What is your tactic for making the world a better place?
Andy: There is so much screwed up stuff happening around us that one person really can’t handle all types of it. So I guess you just have to concentrate on 2 or 3 things that matter most to you and try to make a change. Lately I am trying to boycott mass animal farming by not eating any meat no more; it’s really hard to see animals suffering because of massive exorbitance in our ways of living.
Fredi: Making the world a better place is a hard task. I rather focus on little things in my daily surroundings, that you really can influence and that make a small difference. Treat people nicely and with respect, be honest, be humble to the environment and in my daily life. Things like that.

When was the last time you gave back and what did you do?  
Andy: I am trying to support Unicef on a regular basis to help them fight the problem of stranded refugees all over the world.
Fredi: The last time? I guess that was some money I gave to the fantastic street musician on Warschauer Straße, that I pass every morning.