logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
19m 59s

Ep 7: Kambui Olujimi —Flight and Freedom

Sharjah Art Foundation
About this episode

What happens to a Black body when it stops being weighed down by forces of oppression and is freed from gravity? Can the result be Black rhapsody? 

To find out, listen to Kambui Olujimi in conversation with SB15 curator Hoor Al Qasimi

At Sharjah, Olujimi installed an immersive, site-specific work called In The Dark, We Lose Our Edges (2023) comprising sculpture, sound and painting. The installation references colonial printing processes, Congolese masks and mazes with many routes, to propose the ways in which bodies might defy gravity and take flight.

Olujimi’s works are on view at The Flying Saucer till 11 June 2023.

Click here to view them online.

Press play to learn more about Olujimi’s practice, process and SB15 project as well as what makes his work speak to our current time and place.

To receive updates about the  15th Sharjah Biennial and the Sharjah Art Foundation’s year-round programme, follow us on Instagram @sharjahart.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Up next
May 2025
EP15: Sakiya (Nida Sinnokrot and Sahar Qawasmi) x Natasha Ginwala
Artists Nida Sinnokrot and Sahar Qawasmi of the collective Sakiya talk to Natasha Ginwala about their participatory ecological practice based in Ein Qiniya, a village near Ramallah. Sinnokrot and Qawasmi speak about the importance of keeping alive sustainable relationships to occ ... Show More
38m 24s
May 2025
EP14: Kapulani Landgraf x Megan Tamati-Quennell
Kapulani Landgraf is a Kānaka Maoli artist from Pūʻahuʻula, Kāneʻohe, Oʻahu. In this episode, she speaks about the responsibility to engage in creative forms of resistance against the destruction and erosion of the ‘āina’—which encompasses her peoples’ land and its living entitie ... Show More
17m 45s
May 2025
EP13: Mahmoud Khaled x Zeynep Öz
In a wide-ranging conversation with Zeynep Öz, artist Mahmoud Khaled reflects on artistic solitude, futurity and ceremonies that accompany the unveiling of mega architectural projects. Khaled discusses the conceptual origins of his Sharjah Biennial 16 commission: 'Pool of Perspec ... Show More
32m 10s
Recommended Episodes
Dec 2023
Episode 01: The Diasporic Imagination
How do the concepts of home, longing and belonging resonate through works by artists Etel Adnan, Lubaina Himid, Rashed Aereen and Saloua Rouda Choucair? In this episode, Hoor Al Qasimi speaks with curator Omar Kholeif about the themes that percolate through the exhibition ‘In the ... Show More
24m 14s
Dec 2023
Episode 03: Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska: Synchronicities
How do visual and sonic forms shape our understanding of a place? How do memories unfold when we encounter these forms in new configurations? In this episode, Hoor Al Qasimi speaks with Turner Prize winning artist Lubaina Himid and Magda Stawarska, known for her practice of ‘inne ... Show More
31m 20s
Dec 2023
Episode 04: Backstory: Zanzibar
Join curator Omar Kholeif as he walks us through the formal and contextual dimensions of a newly imagined presentation of ‘Zanzibar’ (1998–2023), a series of paintings by Lubaina Himid situated within a distinct sound installation created in collaboration with Magda Stawarska. Ba ... Show More
7m 10s
Dec 2023
Episode 02: Backstory: Leave to Cool
Backstory explores the story behind an artwork, including its conception, context and meaning in the world. Join curator Omar Kholeif as he speaks about ‘Leave to Cool’ (2020), a painting by Lubaina Himid, to learn more about the significance of its imagery, materiality and histo ... Show More
10m 29s
Feb 2024
Episode 08: Backstory: Untitled (2023)
Join Elizabeth Giorgis as she tells us about some of the symbols and imagery that appear in Melkamzer’s paintings, such as faces, vines, suns and moons, to gain insight into reading telsem. Backstory is available in both audio and video formats. To view this episode in video, cli ... Show More
7m 10s
Jun 2024
Space, Part 1: Giving Form to a Feeling
How does an artist give presence to absence? Bronze, wood, paint, and stone—classic materials for art making. But what if you're trying and struggling to convey a vast expanse, a terrible loss or a haunting presence? In this episode we'll look at two artists who turned to the mat ... Show More
32m 56s
Jul 2023
In the Studio: Shezad Dawood
The British artist, Shezad Dawood is known for his colourful textiles and multimedia artworks, often featuring music and VR to explore issues such as migration, the environment and climate change. His latest exhibition is inspired by the African American composer and musician Yus ... Show More
27m 25s
Aug 2021
E202: Smile You Are In Sharjah. (With Nawar Al Qassimi)
Today we speak with Nawar Al Qassimi, book lover and art advocate from Sharjah Art Foundation. We reminiscence back to stories of growing up in Sharjah, celebrating its contemporary art and culture scene, and exploring new places. #WeCauseCultureHosted by OT, Reem, and Akkaoui, t ... Show More
41m 58s