Oswald

CV / ABOUT

[ Daniel Vollmond ]
* 1985 | Würzburg, Germany


> SHORT BIO

> IDENTITY SPLIT

> EDUCATION

> PUBLIC APPEARANCES

EN / BIO

DANIEL VOLLMOND

* 1985 in Würzburg (DE)
grew up in Hof/Saale (DE), right next to the Iron Curtain, the former GDR and the Czech border

In 2013, Daniel received his BFA from the Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. He later completed his MFA with distinction at Goldsmiths, University of London in 2016, supported by a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). Daniel Vollmond currently lives and works in Basel, Switzerland and in Germany. His work has been exhibited across Europe and internationally.

* * *

Daniel is an artist who continuously learns and adapts to new tools and techniques. He works independently across media with a strong focus on technology, moving image, and interaction—both offline and in digital spaces. DIY, coding, and building things are at the heart of his practice.

His work is deeply informed by his upbringing near the Iron Curtain in rural Germany, close to Hof, a border town adjacent to the former GDR in the so-called Former West. Even though the Iron Curtain collapsed in 1991, its cultural and geographic divisions remained visible for years. A general lack of perspective drove many young people to migrate to cities. At the age of nineteen, Daniel left too. Before moving to Berlin, Amsterdam and London, he spent a Voluntary Social Year in India, where he understood the geopolitical meaning of geography for the first time - specifically what it meant to be born in a rich country: to be born privileged.

These formative years continue to shape his artistic work, which explores social dynamics and everyday conditions, often in an attempt to hack or subvert embedded structures and belief-systems. His practice interweaves personal experience with broader political and historical contexts. It operates somewhere between direct interaction with the viewer, autobiography, documentary and speculative fiction, often resulting in scenarios where the artwork appears to make itself through its engagement with the audience: a negotiation that interferes with the structure of the world, and that in turn allows others to interact with its complexities and its contradictions.

Social networks and building a sense of togetherness are central to his practice. Daniel also holds lectures and workshops and regularly collaborates with others, including his partner, Lynne Kouassi. Since 2023, he has co-organised the ANTHROPOZÄNTA in Hof, Germany: an annual residency and exhibition project in collaboration with Sophie Innmann. He also is a founding member of term7, an anonymous collective that publishes tutorials on digital security, online privacy, and FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software), exploring the social dynamics of online communities and digital activism at the intersection of art and politics.

DE / BIO

DANIEL VOLLMOND

* 1985 in Würzburg (DE)
Aufgewachsen in Hof/Saale (DE), direkt neben dem Eisernen Vorhang, der ehemaligen DDR und der Grenze zur Tschechischen Republik

Im Jahr 2013 erhielt Daniel seinen Kunst Bachelor (BFA) von der Gerrit Rietveld Academie in Amsterdam. 2016 schloss er seinen Kunst Master (MFA) mit Auszeichnung an der Goldsmiths, University of London ab, welcher durch ein Stipendium des Deutschen Akademischen Austauschdienstes (DAAD) gefördert wurde. Daniel Vollmond lebt und arbeitet derzeit in Basel (Schweiz) und in Deutschland. Seine Arbeiten wurden europaweit und international ausgestellt.

* * *

Daniel ist ein Künstler, der sich kontinuierlich neue Tools und Techniken aneignet. Er arbeitet unabhängig und medienübergreifend mit einem starken Fokus auf Technologie, Video und Interaktion, sowohl im analogen als auch im digitalen Raum. DIY, Programmieren und das Bauen von Dingen stehen im Zentrum seiner künstlerischen Praxis.

Seine Arbeit ist stark von seiner Kindheit im ländlichen Deutschland, nahe der ehemaligen innerdeutschen Grenze bei Hof, einer Grenzstadt zur früheren DDR im sogenannten Ehemaligen Westen geprägt. Obwohl der Eiserne Vorhang 1991 fiel, blieben kulturelle und geografische Trennlinien noch lange spürbar. Die allgemeine Perspektivlosigkeit führte dazu, dass viele junge Menschen in die Städte abwanderten. Auch Daniel verließ mit neunzehn Jahren seine Heimat. Bevor er nach Berlin, Amsterdam und London zog, absolvierte er ein Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr in Indien. Dort verstand er erstmals die geopolitische Bedeutung von Geografie - insbesondere, was es heißt, in einem reichen Land geboren zu sein: privilegiert durch Geburt.

Diese prägenden Jahre beeinflussen seine künstlerische Arbeit bis heute. Seine Werke untersuchen soziale Dynamiken und alltägliche Situationen, oft mit dem Ziel, bestehende Strukturen und Glaubenssysteme zu hacken oder kritisch zu hinterfragen. Dabei verwebt seine Praxis persönliche Erfahrungen mit politischen und historischen Kontexten. Sie bewegt sich an der Schnittstelle von direkter Interaktion mit dem Publikum, Autobiografie, Dokumentation und spekulativer Fiktion und führt häufig zu Situationen, in denen sich das Kunstwerk scheinbar immer im Prozess des Entstehens befindet. Es entsteht eine Art Verhandlung mit der Welt, die andere dazu einlädt, sich mit ihren Komplexitäten und Widersprüchen auseinanderzusetzen.

Soziale Netzwerke und das Schaffen von Gemeinschaft stehen im Zentrum seiner Arbeit. Daniel hält regelmäßig Vorträge und Workshops und arbeitet häufig kollaborativ, unter anderem mit seiner Partnerin Lynne Kouassi. Seit 2023 organisiert er gemeinsam mit Sophie Innmann die ANTHROPOZÄNTA in Hof, wo er aufgewachsen ist – ein jährliches Residenz- und Ausstellungsprojekt. Zudem ist er Gründungsmitglied von term7, einem anonymen Kollektiv, das Tutorials zu digitaler Sicherheit, Schutz der online Privatsphäre und FOSS (Free and Open-Source Software) veröffentlicht. Dabei erforscht term7 soziale Dynamiken von Online-Communities und digitalem Aktivismus an der Schnittstelle von Kunst und Politik.

https://lynnekouassi.com
https://anthropozaenta.org


IDENTITY SPLIT

"In 2016 my name was for the first time mentioned on e-flux. I was one of the participating artists at 'Alternativa 2016', curated by Anna Nawrot, Lívia Páldi and Aneta Szyłak. In 2022 my name was mentioned again on e-flux, this time not as a participating artist, but as a technical project coordinator for ‘Eartbound - In Dialogue with Nature’.

It is true for most artists that they cannot pay their rent, buy food and the material for their work only with the income they generate through their practice: It is a constant struggle to find the right balance between life as an artist and the necessity to earn money. This is why those of us who don't earn enough money as artists and who did not inherit a fortune from their families often have to work in other jobs as well - for example on construction sites, as care workers, in the service industry, as teachers, etc.

Also I cannot afford to work as a full-time artist - even though I would like to. I need a part-time job to pay my bills. Nevertheless I am in a quite fortunate position: because I am self-employed I can choose to work the necessary minimum in order to maximise the time I have as an artist. However, this 'work identity' easily gets blurred and confused with my 'artist identity', because both 'identities' are rooted in the field of art and culture.

This is the reason why I chose to split them up. From now on I use my mother's maiden name for my artist identity: Daniel Vollmond, formerly known as Daniel Dressel."

Daniel Vollmond
Basel, 01.01.2023


EDUCATION

2014 – 2016

Goldsmiths - University of London, MFA Fine Art || with distinction (London, UK)

2009 – 2013

Gerrit Rietveld Academie, BA Fine Art (Amsterdam, NL)


PUBLIC APPEARANCES

2024

Anthropozänta 2024 || artistic direction / residency (Hof, DE)

Mischabbruch, KASKO || exhibition (Basel, CH)

Digial Air, IOGENALITY || online ehibition

2023

Anthropozänta 2023 || artistic direction / residency (Hof, DE)

Identity \ Labour, Salon Mondial || exhibition (Basel, CH)

Prototype Politics, Padelhalle || exhibiton / event (Basel, CH)

2022

Co-Create: Digital Self-Defense Today, Web3 & The Metaverse, FHNW/HGK || workshop (Basel, CH)

Stiftung Kunstfonds, Neustart Kultur || award

Spoiler Zone, IL CIRCOLO DEL FRATTEMPO || exhibition (Berlin, DE)

Atelier Mondial, 6 months in Berlin || artist residency (Berlin, DE)

2021

E.KA.TE, Polyphonize || research residency (Limassol, CY)

South Kiosk, South Kiosk Summer Screen || exhibition (London, GB)

E-Werk Freiburg, KA BUFF ! || artist residency (Freiburg, DE)

FORMER Project Space, Ohmmmmmm || exhibition (Brussels, BE)

2020

E-Werk Freiburg, Songs from the End of the World || exhibition (Freiburg, DE)

2019

Dover Arts Development, JETWASH - 5min - 360° || solo exhibition (Dover, GB)

National Gallery Skopje, 20 years Art Colony Galichnik || exhibition (Skopje, MK)

Art Colony Galičnik, Art Colony Galičnik || micro residency (Galičnik, MK)

Kunsthaus Langenthal, Unbehaust || exhibition (Langenthal, CH)

2018

Museum Romeinse Katakomben, Secret Gardens || exhibition (Valkenburg, NL)

Imago Mundi, Join The Dots / Unire le distanze || exhibition / catalogue (Trieste, IT)

Repeater Books, Regeneration Songs: Sounds Of Investment And Loss From East London -> Music for Masterplanning || exhibition / publication (London, GB)

Stiftung Brasilea, Habitare || exhibition (Basel, CH)

WAL-NUT, WAL-NUT / ISSU 1 + ISSU 2 || publication (London, UK)

2017

Peer Sessions: ASC Gallery, Future Refrains || exhibition (London, GB)

Peer Sessions: ASC Gallery, Collaboration in Question || event (London, GB)

Cody Dock, POLYGON || solo exhibition (London, GB)

Peer Sessions: Deptford X, Peer Session #76 || event (London, GB)

2016

Alternativa 2016, Damage & Loss || exhibition / catalogue (Gdansk, PL)

Goldsmits - University of London, MFA Degree Show || exhibition (London, GB)

No.w.here, Die Yuppie Hipster Artist Scum || event / lecture performance (London, GB)

GRAD, Between the Lines || exhibition (London, GB)

2015

Moscow Biennale Foundation, Exchange || artist residency (Vishniy Volochek, RU)

Oriel Sycharth Gallery, Collaborate! || exhibition (Wrexham, GB)

Joya: AiR, Joya: AiR || artist residency (Cortijada Los Gázquez, ES)

2014

DAAD, German Academic Exchange Service || award

2013

Anthropozänta || exhibition (Helmbrechts, DE)

Gerrit Rietveld Academie, GRA Graduation Show || exhibition (Amsterdam, NL)

2012

Upominki, Ultimate Harmony || exhibition (Rotterdam, NL)

Žinkovy Arts Festival, Žinkovy Arts Festival || exhibition (Žinkovy, CZ)

Holland Festival: Frascati Theatre, Unfamiliar Parcours || event (Amsterdam, NL)

Amstel 41, Hardcore / Ding-mon-seek || exhibition (Amsterdam, NL)

Nosadella.Due, Creating a Context || artist residency / exhibition (Bologna, IT)

Swedish Connection || artist residency (Aspnäs, Härnösand, SE)

2011

Retort Art Space, Learning to Sea || exhibition (Amsterdam, NL)

About the Relationship between Chaos and Silence || residency (Kolkata, IN)

slowLab, SlowLloyd: About Blank Spaces || exhibition (Amsterdam, NL)

term7 tonka.green anthropozaenta.org