Son[i]a #390
Hamja Ahsan
Hamja Ahsan is a British artist, writer, curator and fanzine enthusiast. He is known for his raw critique of dominant culture and power structures, particularly in the context of cultural representation and identity. As a neurodivergent Muslim, his work addresses the intersectionality of race, religion, and politics, shedding light on the ways in which dominant narratives perpetuate marginalisation, inequality and the repression of civil liberties.
His 2017 book Shy Radicals explores the idea of shyness as a form of resistance, encouraging readers to reconsider the role of introversion in political engagement. This down-to-earth, anti-systemic manifesto, is a multifaceted compendium of modes and registers, full of satire and personal anecdotes. It reframes social justice movements through the lens of introspection, deep thinking and empathy as mechanisms against what he calls “Extrovert-Supremacism”.
We talk to Hamja Ahsan about his traumatic participation in documenta fifteen, about the language of Shy Radicals, about neurodiversity and Islamophobia, and about the fictional utopian shy people’s Republic of Aspergistan. But also about fried chicken. Yes, mostly about fried chicken, really.
Conversation: Quim Pujol, Pantea Arman and Anna Ramos. Script and sound production: Roc Jiménez de Cisneros. Voice over: Hiuwai Chu. Audio recordings by: Anna Irina Russell, SubUnit_FieldRec, stujun, wangzhuokun.
Some reflections on the small press boom in the art world
Independent publishing is experiencing a boom in the art world. Before the bubble bursts, we speak to Kit Hammonds and Bernhard Cella about the boom, the recovery of supposedly obsolete printing techniques, the risk-aversion of institutional art collections, about professionalisation and about digital generation.
Fatima El-Tayeb
Fatima El-Tayeb talks about the need to reassess Europe’s internalist narrative and the discourse of integration. She evaluates the role of race in the construction of this account and argues for the creation and recovery of archives as a strategy for developing other types of narratives.