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AVAH (Afghan Visual Arts and History) Collective curate this evening in response to Hayv Kahraman’s exhibition Gut Feelings. Artist Orna Kazimi will begin the evening with a reading of Catfish (The White Pube, 2021) which will be followed by a conversation with Mohammad Sabir Sabir considering the remembrance of genocide, embodied trauma and artistic practices in displacement.

AVAH Collective is an independent and global research collective and multimedia platform with contributing artists, art historians, curators, art world professionals, writers, and creatives covering Afghan Visual Culture, inclusive of its diaspora and minorities. AVAH contributors engage critically with Afghanistan-related and Afghan-diasporic themes at the nexus of mainly visual culture and contemporary art. The collective came together upon recognising a lack of obtainable information and long term initiatives concerning the historical and contemporary practices originating in or relating to Afghanistan.

Orna Kazimi (b.1991, Afghanistan) is a visual artist based in London. Orna’s work and research explore personal encounters with migration in relation to collective memories of displacement through drawings, installation and writing. She was awarded the Caspian Arts Foundation Scholarship (2016) and studied at the Central Saint Martins in London (2018). More about Orna Kazimi

Mohammad Sabir Sabir is an Afghan artist who graduated from Kabul University and is currently doing his MFA at Goldsmiths, University of London. Through his practice, Sabir investigates the ongoing discrimination towards the ethnic Hazara minority in Afghanistan. Sabir highlights this in his Genocide series (2016-present), painting intricate Hazaragi embroidery motifs on human bones as well as on cut trees, clay pots, and personal objects. Sabir’s works have been exhibited in Kabul, Los Angeles, Tehran and Figueres.  

Images: 1.Mohammad Sabir Sabir, Genocide series (2016-ongoing): Hazaragi embroidery motifs painted on personal belongings. Courtesy of the artist. 2.Orna Kazimi, Death starts from the right toe (2018). Courtesy of the artist. 3.Logo AVAH Collective 4.Portrait Mohammad Sabir Sabir. Courtesy of the artist. 5.Portrait Orna Kazimi. Courtesy of the artist.