Neon Zinn : Collaboration

Seth Damm’s creative process withNeon Zinn is rooted in tactile experimentation, slow handcrafting, and a deep engagement with material history. Raised around his father’s carpentry shop and trained in printmaking and performance art at The Evergreen State College, Damm developed an affinity for hands-on, labor-intensive mediums where physical effort directly shapes the outcome. His turn toward fiber occurred spontaneously in preparation for a gallery show in Marfa, Texas, where he first encountered raw 100% organic cotton rope—sourced from a family-owned mill in Pennsylvania—and experienced an immediate sensory connection to its weight, texture, and flexibility.

Working from his back-porch studio in New Orleans, Damm custom hand-dyes cotton rope in small batches, mixing vibrant hues, ombre gradients, and earth tones. He manipulates the raw cord through knotting, wrapping, stitching, and structural tethering, transforming flat horizontal layouts into dynamic three-dimensional forms. Rather than forcing the rope into rigid geometries, Damm’s process embraces the material's natural tendency to twist and drape, designing pieces that transition fluidly from standalone wall sculptures into intimate, ergonomic wearable art that responds to human movement. Named as a homage to social justice historian Howard Zinn, the project operates under a philosophy of intentionality and resistance to mass consumption, aiming to reclaim rope—a material with complex historical connotations of binding and restriction—as a medium of connection, adornment, and creative liberation.