Uzbekistan is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia. Before the invention of modern borders and nation-states, this territory was divided into khanates ruled by emirs. In the 19th century, it was colonised by the Russian Empire during the Great Game with Britain, and later became part of the Soviet Union. Because of this history […] The post Born after empire appeared first on Dazed MENA.| Dazed MENA
On a crisp night in February, a cobblestone street resting on one of Amsterdam’s famed canals is pulsating with the chatter of people eagerly awaiting to be let into Foam, the oldest and most established photography museum in the Netherlands. The slightly chaotic line seems never-ending, stretching beyond the street, so long that it curls […] The post Sakir Khader: Taking an axe to the frozen sea appeared first on Dazed MENA.| Dazed MENA
“What I call an archive is one that runs on my rules,” says photographer Liz Johnson Artur, whose self-assured approach to capturing images has come to define her career. But it hasn’t always been this way. When Artur first felt compelled to take pictures, she found she couldn’t because she didn’t know how to approach […] The post Listening to a Liz Johnson Artur mixtape starring Aweng Chuol appeared first on Dazed MENA.| Dazed MENA
“Madness is everywhere.” These are the first words I write in my notebook during my conversation with Monira Al Qadiri. “Madness exists in exile, isolation, war, and liberty,” says the Kuwaiti artist. “It can be found everywhere, among both the powerful and the weak.” In recent years, however, madness has become a weapon (or a […] The post Monira Al Qadiri is mad about it appeared first on Dazed MENA.| Dazed MENA
Rahim Rabia's journey began where many of our own did: Tumblr. As you scroll through his body of work, each image evokes a striking language reminiscent of a film still. They prompt the viewer to ask, Who is this character, and what is their story? The self-taught Algerian photographer, now based in Paris, has crafted a body of work that combines emotional intimacy with a cinematic sensibility, often capturing spontaneous and authentic moments from everyday life.| Dazed MENA
In the hushed geometries of Paris’s Palais de Tokyo, amid the heavy silences of history and the noise of global turmoil, Chalisée Naamani's new exhibition Octogone opens like a quiet invocation. The Franco-Iranian artist, whose work consistently straddles the personal and the political, has composed a spatial and symbolic reverie—at once installation, procession, and arena—where bodies are sculpted, histories are contested, and clothing becomes both witness and weapon.| Dazed MENA
Panjar-e Haft by Mahnaz Zohreh Bayazi| Nowruz Journal
My Lovely Days by Samira Ashari| Nowruz Journal
An Iranian in Beijing by David Shams| Nowruz Journal
The Diaspora Body by Tina Ehsanipour| Nowruz Journal