An interview with Farah Allibhai
An interview with Farah Allibhai, Curatorial Assistant at Artes Mundi, on her work on the Interpretation Space at the National Museum Cardiff by Kit Edwards
What is the interpretation space?
The Interpretation Space is a collection of objects, images, and texts situated between the work of Carrie Mae Weems and Firelei Báez in the National Museum Cardiff, as well as in our Online Interpretation Space. It is an invitation to engage with, and give context to, the themes and ideas present in the work on display in Artes Mundi 9.
How did you carry out your research?
The process was carried out in collaboration with my colleague Melissa Hinkin (Curator at Artes Mundi). Initially, we started with looking at the artists, their work, and at the exhibition itself drawing out broad themes. From themes found within each artist’s work, we collated words which sprung to mind. Things like ship-ledgers, prism, cosmology – general but relevant words. Out of these, I narrowed down those that piqued my interest, healing for example. From there it spiralled. Google is a good research tool and place to start word searching. I also looked at the museum catalogue, using these terms to see what came up in their archive.
At the same time, I used my pre-existing knowledge of artistic practices like Kintsugi and the Japanese aesthetic known as Wabi Sabi (1), that takes things that are broken and mends them, not to disguise the damage but to restore them to a thing of beauty – it’s spiritual. And for me, a metaphor for healing.
In this way it was a really intuitive process. For example, I knew for some inexplicable reason that rum would be of interest. The idea of rum came into my head, and I just followed my nose. I thought there might be a connection to Firelei, and Dineo’s work. When I started to research rum, I discovered its strong link to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Enslaved people on plantations in the Caribbean, discovered molasses and the process of fermenting it, which makes rum (2). A Canadian company, Seagram, then produced rum and gave it the name of Captain Morgan – who was a 17th century privateer and Lieutenant Governor of Jamaica, and a slave owner. He also happened to be from Llanrumney in Wales. The connections came about quite naturally.
What was the intention in carrying out this research and curating this space?
From the off, I thought - this (the exhibition) is really heavy. I knew that these works were coming out of histories and lived experience of deep trauma, pain, injustice, a lot of which is still unresolved. And I didn’t want to replicate those traumas. I asked myself how healing could be brought to this, how hope might be brought to this work. And how could this interpretation space be a thing of beauty as well as raising awareness? I wanted to broaden the dialogue and bring in elements of interest and hope around these stories of pain and suffering, that are rich in culture – rich in life.
Healing seems to be a big theme in the exhibition and in your research, can you tell us a bit about that?
There were so many elements already existing within the exhibition and within my own psyche where things just started to align. I know this territory really well. For example, with the rose quartz that features in the Interpretation Space, (inspired by the one sent over with Dineo’s work, (Nder brick)…in process (Harmonic Conversions), 2020) I have experience of crystal healing, so I recognised what that meant. It wasn’t just curiosity, it resonated with me and with my healing practice. Such objects are used to transmit healing energies, some people use crystals, some use prayer beads.
And that relates to Firelei’s use of Eleke beads as a motif in her work the soft afternoon air as you hold us all in a single death (To breathe full and Free: a declaration, a re-visioning, a correction), 2021. Eleke beads are used in the spiritual practices of the Yoruba-speaking tribes of Nigeria and Benin in West Africa, particularly in the worship of the Orisha’s (spirits) (3): different colour beads have different meanings. And if you trace that, there’s also a connection with voodoo and its practice in New Orleans (4).
I think that when any artist of colour is dealing with these issues, we experience them in our lives, and working with trauma is not an easy process.
These objects are different access points to information, as well as healing. But of course, there’s an element of resistance as well. The Eleke beads and their incorporation into the Christian religion, meant that people maintained their own cultural and religious practices, and that is a form of resistance, I feel.
Are there any other objects of resitance that feature in the interpretation space?
The poster for the campaign for justice for Mohamud Mohamed Hassan. He was a 24-year old father to be, who died in Cardiff after being arrested by South Wales Police in January this year (5). The campaign is a refusal for his death to go without further investigation. In Carrie May Weem’s exhibition, the work Repeating the Obvious, 2019, features a young black hooded man and we immediately recall all the stereotypes given to black men, who suffer as a result. There is a catalogue of injustices, but one of the most recent in South Wales had been Mohamud Hassan’s death, within 24 hours of being in contact with 51 police officers. So, if we go back to what Artes Mundi is in part about, bringing the international to the local, this highlights the fact that these injustices, that systemic racism, is not just an American thing.
Can you tell us about the references to environmental justice and movements towards global solidarity that feature in the interpretation space?
In Prabhakar’s work, a major theme is mining, but primarily for me his work is talking about the environment and the ways that human bodies and the land are exploited in pursuit of consumerism and wealth. So, Melissa and I felt that this was a global issue that affects us all. The fact that farmers in India are suffering right now, is connected to our acceptance of land exploitation and capitalist consumerism. Farmers are being told by the Indian government to buy pesticides and grains that they can’t afford which is indicative of current global farming methods. Ultimately, it will affect us all, whether that’s through climate change, food shortages, land infertility, pesticide toxicity contaminating water, health related issues (6).
When you see Beatriz’s work and you see the devestation of the hurricane in Gosila, 2018 – yes it’s indicative of the fragility of that part of the world, but it’s occurrence can’t be separated from our global climate crisis. There are massive impacts being seen and felt all over the world right now.
How did this research relate to your own practice?
My practice has always involved a lot of research, I have a knowledge base relating to the themes I work with that has developed over time. These methodologies of research are always happening as an artist, the difference has been in taking my research methods and presenting them in a more formal frame, more curatorial. The research needed to be thorough, structured, accessible. The process was confirmation that the more research one does, the greater ones knowledge base, the more interesting things become.