What was the motivation behind the paste-up that we’ve used for the cover art in this issue?
The idea for this street art was sparked by a conversation with ‘J,’ an independent writer who traces intimate geographies in writing about the connections between people and place, during the Fearless Collective’s retreat in Colombo, Sri Lanka. She admired the henna artwork I created for Palestine and envisioned creating a large poster of the artwork on a tall building. We didn’t have enough time and instead did a smaller scale paste-up with Palestine solidarity posters that were created and designed by artists like Pionica Fernando, Ismagul Hasan, Shilo Shiv Suleiman, and Kimsuka in response to the Fearless Collective’s call to artists. We picked a few different posters with fragments of reclamation, liberation, and power and cut out elements from each poster: a Palestinian woman, sunbird, hands with the Palestine map, a pomegranate.
We decided to put the collage up across the Rio Cinema [in Colombo], so that everyday people walking by the road would catch a glimpse of it.
J’s friend from Kashmir shared a powerful text that inspired us both because it speaks to the need to end occupations everywhere. This felt like the spirit of what we wanted to say [with our art] in solidarity with everyone resisting occupation and working for liberation across struggles.
What role do you see art playing in movements?
Art plays a very pivotal role in movements of resistance and mobilization, and it really does challenge the oppressive systems around the world. I believe that it adds fuel to the movements of resistance, [and] brings beauty, power and hope to movements across the globe.
Right now we see a major shift in how art is shaping societies and amplifying voices—art has the power to influence cross-border movements that fight border control and fascism.
What first drew you to art as a medium of resistance?
Many years ago, I experienced a lot of personal challenges for being a different gender in my community, and that really drove me on how I can shift [people’s] understanding. It took a long time to convince people to learn and accept the way I am. Later, they defined me as an artist rather than focusing on my gender and the perspective shifted of who I was as person within our community.
From there, my journey began to evolve and unfold with the women of our community as part of the Fearless Collective, a feminist art collective which intervenes and reclaims public spaces across south Asia, celebrating the resilience and existence of women through large murals. I was chosen through their ambassador program in Sri Lanka during the economic crack-down, [which] drew me into the medium of resistance.
What is a source of hope for you in this moment of global resistance?
A source of hope for me in this moment of global resistance is showing radical love and solidarity. That’s how we all come together, supporting each other and standing with one another during these global movements. Dismantling the colonial power. With love we can do greater things in this world. With love we can reimagine a beautiful future.