The Beauty of Literature.....

Bodies Out of Place - INGRID POLLARD ‘Pastoral Interlude’ 1988

Visual arts and literature can both be said to be modes by which we can explore the human condition. Through them we can encounter new perspectives, new realities and discover new possibilities. We can also question who is allowed to speak, and who is spoken for. These possibilities show only some of the many connections between the two art forms, and thus creates a basis within which interdisciplinary bridges can be created. Ingrid Pollard is a photographer, media artist and researcher based in the UK. Her art practice is concerned with representation, history and landscape with reference to race, difference and the materiality of lens-based media. The work of Pollard which I am looking at here focuses on the idyllic, romanticised representation of British countryside that Pollard disrupts and challenges through the juxtaposition of issues of around identity and belonging. Photography and text are placed together each a necessary part of the issues that Pollard wants to ...

Lessons learned from Africa Utopia (September 14th 2014); Africa Re-Imagined

As I sat with my friend at the final talk that we were attending for the day, looking ahead at the panel of 4 women discussing their creative practices, it suddenly dawned on me that all of the talks that we had attended today had been facilitated by African women . As a take home message for me, that was exciting and significant; hearing about art and ideas coming from the continent and its diaspora through the voices of African women so often left out of the dialogues that take place. I listened, I took notes, I soaked up the atmosphere, and I fed on the information presented to me. I was eager to hear, and eager to learn. The first talk I attended drew me in and captivated me, I think it was the youthful energy of the two speakers (Kiran Yoliswa and Alae Ismail who collectively are known as Styled By Africa ). They carried the audience into their world of African design, cuisine, music and media. I learnt many a new thing, and my friend and I nodded and ‘ mmmhmmd’ as we l...

Jamal Penjweny at the Ikon Gallery, Birmingham

Image from the Saddam is Here’ series - taken from the Ikon gallery website The Ikon Gallery in Birmingham is celebrating its 50th anniversary during 2014-2015, and as part of the celebrations there are some exciting and interesting exhibitions coming up throughout the year. So over the weekend I made my way over to the Ikon to see what was on offer, what I found was Iraqi-Kurdish artist Jamal Penjweny's exhibition ‘Saddam is Here’. Penjweny’s exhibition was a fascinating insight into the lives of Iraqi people that goes beyond the usual war images that have constantly bombarded our screens and newspapers over the years. Penjweny depicts the realities of the average Iraqi person’s life through the art of photography and film. The presence of Saddam Hussein in Iraqi society is a subject matter that Penjweny is particular drawn to, hence the exhibition title. He cleverly explores this through photographs taken of Iraqi people going about their daily li...

Kuandika

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