Here, we ask designers to take a selfie and give us an inside look at their life.
Age: 30
Occupation: Creative director of Roham Shamekh studio.
Instagram: @rohamshamekh
Hometown: Dubai.
Studio location: Dubai.
Describe what you make: Dostoevsky said something profoundly simple: “Beauty will save the world.” I am aligned with this idea 100 percent. Beauty has the power to elevate the mind and spirit; this is what drives me. I create functional art that can give you a love shot as I pour my heart and soul into every piece. This is exactly what I do and the beauty I’m trying to achieve every single day. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but real beauty—genuine beauty—is whatever is made wholeheartedly.
The most important thing you’ve designed to date: The Ovo Man Chair by far. It’s a signature chair that I’ve developed in many variations. I’m obsessed with its utter simplicity, its lines that resemble urban cities. Beneath its surface, however, it embodies all the world’s hybrids, all the opposites that attract—the masculine and the feminine, and vice versa. The metal structure and interwoven elements of men and women that forms one in this chair reflect society at large and all its intricacies of new identities and cross-identities. It’s my superstar, sitting and silent but saying so much.
Since the beginning of creation, it not only reflects today but also our creation at a cellular and biological level, at our homo sapiens level. It’s about striving for balance, which is key to achieving beauty. It’s very mathematical, not chaotic. This chair is my and my studio’s DNA, reflecting the tug-of-war between opposites in civilizations, order and chaos, tradition and innovation, struggles within yourself and the constant pursuit of balance amidst the conflicts.
Describe the problem your work solves: Besides making life functional with aesthetics and revolutionizing thinking, design can have the amazing function of surprising you. We saw that with geniuses like Gunnar Aagaard Andersen, Eileen Gray, and Jean Prouvé, stealing your mind with their incredible visions. Besides making you flabbergasted and happy, they made you think differently and look at something on a different level. This is design thinking before it became a trendy word.
I want you to feel comfortable, to feel happiness, and for the design to be a visual feast for the eye and your soul. If my shapes and forms make you think differently, that’s the whole point. But I enjoy the process and try to not overthink or intellectualize too much. I simply enjoy what I do, and if this process could give you pleasure and make you pause in your speedy life, my problem is solved. Adding beauty to life makes me wholeheartedly happy. I live for the pursuit of beauty.
Describe the project you are working on now: Showing the Terminator collection at Tuleste Gallery during NYCxDesign. It was super well-received at Milan Design Week at the baroque Palazzo Litta. It reinterprets what’s been gone in history by revisiting iconic candelabras that reflect the world of now and with a strong echo to climate change. The candelabras are labeled Earth Monsters and the chair Scavengers to truly grasp the beasts we became. This is a real transition to become fully aware of what we are. In my work, I spend a lot of time checking to unpeel and learn about myself and the world. Too much brainy work sucks at the end. Look at where we are —we need to leave more space so the heart can talk. It’ll help everyone!
A new or forthcoming project we should know about: In September, I’m unveiling a new seating collection in an outstanding location in Paris in September. Paris is a dream, it’s not a city. Paris is a concept—it’s fluid, it’s everything together and nothing at once, and it’s a true symbol of timeless beauty. You cannot pinpoint exactly what attracts you to Paris—it’s just a force. It’s magnetic, like my Ovo chair whose metal structure echoes opposition.
What you absolutely must have in your studio: Chips and candy. I know it’s a bit childish, but I like the unseriousness of that food group.
What you do when you’re not working: Try to better myself. If you want to solve things, it’s important to know yourself inside and out—your vulnerabilities, strengths, and what touches you emotionally and intellectually to remove the layers like an onion.
Sources of creative envy: I like different disciplines. I enjoy the radical creativity of Tom Ford, Gunnar Aagaard Andersen, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Rick Owens, and Gaetano Pesce, but also the ode to colors of Wassily Kandinsky, the almost theoretical design elements of Eileen Gray, the simplicity and boldness of Kazimir Malevich, and the wilderness and disruption of Yves Saint Laurent. It gives me energy to witness this creativity from different periods of time, but still super interwoven and nurtured by each other. I also love legends and tales from different cultures.
The distraction you want to eliminate: Sleeping, but we can’t function otherwise.
Concrete or marble? Concrete.
High-rise or townhouse? High-rise.
Remember or forget? Forget.
Aliens or ghosts? Aliens.
Dark or light? Dark light. I like that for a collection—thank you!
Portrait photography by Amir Farzad.
