Amir Zainorin has lived in Copenhagen for more than twenty years, but his story begins in Malaysia. Moving between countries has shaped both his life and his artistic practice, and today he describes himself as someone who is always in between; between cultures, identities and ways of seeing the world.
Originally trained in business, his path towards art was not straightforward. After studying in Malaysia, he was required to work for a bank as part of a government scholarship. After two years he realised it was not the life he wanted. Leaving that path eventually brought him to the United States, and later into work in entertainment and advertising. Only after several turns did he decide to fully commit to art.
Music was a big part of his childhood, his father was a musician, but over time visual art became the more natural language for him. He started as a painter in the mid-1990s, first working with oil and later acrylic. As his life became more mobile, his practice began to change. Today he works with many different media and chooses the form depending on the project rather than following one fixed style.
For Amir, everything starts with space. Instead of bringing a finished work into a gallery, he prefers to study the place first. Architecture, history and atmosphere become part of the process. This way of working has guided his recent site-specific installation at a museum in Museo delle Mura, a project he has been developing for more than a year.
The exhibition that Amir has been working on during his residency in Rome, The Gravity of the Wall, explores ideas of fragility, care and identity. Textiles and bandages appear alongside participatory elements, such as drums that visitors can play. Instead of traditional animal skin, he uses X-ray film, creating a sense of transparency and encouraging people to reflect on what lies inside and outside the body. As he explains, he does not arrive with fixed answers.
“I have to see the space first. Then the work starts to grow from there.”
The project also became an international gathering. Friends travelled from different countries to support him, something he speaks about with real gratitude. Even with limited funding, the sense of community around the work made it feel complete.
During his current stay at Circolo Scandinavo in Rome, his days follow a calm routine. He starts early, goes for a walk, drinks coffee and works for long hours in his room before meeting others later in the day. Rome does not distract him; rather, it gives him a rhythm where he can focus. At the same time, living and working among other artists brings conversations and exchanges that slowly influence how he thinks. He says inspiration often comes less from ideas and more from the energy people bring into a shared space.
Questions of identity appear often in his reflections. After so many years living abroad, he does not feel fully at home in one place. Denmark shaped him, but returning to Malaysia also feels different now. Instead of seeing this as a problem, he embraces the idea that identity changes over time, just as people and places do.
“Identity is never fixed,” he says. “It changes all the time.”
Soon his travels continue. After Rome, he will return to Malaysia for a residency, followed by projects in Thailand and participation in a biennale in Korea. It is a busy life, but one he enjoys, especially now that his two children are grown up and following their own creative paths in music. For Amir, movement itself has become a way of living. Between countries, disciplines and cultures, he keeps adapting, allowing each new place to shape the next phase of his work.
Text: Arvid Granmo
Bild: Sara Rynefors