Ripu Daman Singh is a writer and artist based in Berlin. At the centre of her work is always a woman, a layered hybrid self that can wear different skins or inhabit different forms.
Currently she is writing a novel on female friendship rooted in Delhi, We Are Capable of Beauty, supported by the Berlin Senate Stipendium. Her artworks have been exhibited at the L41 gallery and Lobe Block. As part of a Berlin-based collective Sluts in Sarees, Ripu explores South Asian female desire and sexuality in her performances. Her micro essays centering women’s emotions have been published in a photo book called Second Glance.
In India, Ripu worked as a Feature Writer for Hindustan Times and a Lifestyle Reporter for The Pioneer. Her articles have been published in the Huffington Post UK, DailyO, Air India travel magazine, Maxposure, iHeartBerlin and several media outlets.
What brought you to Berlin? Love? World politics? Or was it a coincidence?
Love
What do you love about Berlin?
You can never surprise or shock Berlin.
What do you miss in Berlin?
A long summer
What is your favorite spot in Berlin?
The petting farm down my street near mauerpark, where guinea pigs, bunnies and goats go about their lives.
Would you say you are a different person in Berlin? A different translator? And if yes, in what way?
I think I'm much more ridiculous in Berlin, for it is a city that allows me permission to do as I please and write without being intellectual.
Which existing literary work do you wish you had written?
I wish I had written 'My Brilliant Friend' by Elena Ferrante.
