Please
note - the film above is subtitled. Please click the CC on the bottom right of
the video player to access these subtitles.
Kiara
Mohamed Amin is a Somali, queer, trans multidisciplinary artist who
lives and works in Liverpool. His practice encompasses filmmaking,
poetry, painting and artisanal handicraft. His recent works are
primarily concerned with addressing topics such as race, gender,
sexuality and self-care.
In Scouse Republic,
a new commission for OUTPUT (supported by the Elephant Trust), the
artist takes the viewer on a journey through trauma (both medical and
personal) and towards radical possibilities for healing. The film
explores the role Liverpool has played in this journey - in particular
its green spaces and abundance of wildlife. The Princes Park
heron (well known to visitors) appears here as a totem of self-care, a
mythical reinterpretation of the Liver Bird. Mohamed credits his
reading of These Bones
Will Rise Again
by Panashe Chigumadzi for introducing him to the idea of ancestral
spirits communicating with their descendants through the land, a major
theme running through the work.
In the gallery, the film is
accompanied by a new mural painted by the artist exploring natural
forms and plant life, bringing the nurturing atmosphere of nature into
the space.
Can
you tell us about the emotional journey depicted in this film?
This film was commissioned at the beginning of January
2020, but I had been thinking about it since October 2019. Scouse
Republic was the name I wanted to name this film straight away because
I knew I wanted to create a piece of work that was my love letter to
Liverpool. The film's development follows my path of trauma both
physically, emotionally and spiritually. Mine is just one journey of
trying to make sense with how to move past trauma and how we can use
the land to heal ourselves. This film fundamentally changed me as a
person and it depicts that.
Why did you
decide to paint a mural in the gallery?
I got inspired by cave paintings during my research on
the uses of psychedelics for ritual medicinal purposes. I came across
cave paintings depicting their relationship and spiritual experiences
of mushrooms. I chose to paint Amanita Muscaria mushroom dreaming of
us; that we connect to the land to to each other, to dance, play music
and engage in ceremonies to bring us together as a community that
nurtures one another.
What is an
entheogen?
Entheogens can be either psychoactive or substances that
induce alterations in perception, mood, consciousness, cognition, or
behavior for the purposes of engendering spiritual development or
otherwise in sacred contexts. Indigenous people use entheogens to
connect to their ancestors in times of healing, guidance or just
needing to connect.
How has Liverpool shaped your practice as an artist, and in particular
this film?
Liverpool's
not like any other place in the world and I don't think if I were
anywhere else, I'd be producing this work. Unintentionally all of my
work has been about the Black ancestral history of Liverpool, alongside
echoes of my life. I started practicing art in 2018, the first film I
made was Black Flowers
(2018)
and in that film I asked; "Do you still hear the echoes of your
ancestors at the docks?" - and it seems I'm still hearing them and I'm
only realising now that I have continued this pursuit. After some time
in therapy and away communing with nature in Liverpool parks, I've come
to believe that the spirit of the ancestors who've been thrown
overboard have found themselves bound to this land. Liverpool is sacred
in its power because ancient powerful bones are lying here. Many bodies
have been thrown out either because they were sick, disabled or for
insurance reasons. One of the slaves' owners - a Liverpool mayor,
William Gregson - has been known to have more than 9,000 slave deaths
and I believe some of those ancestors are here in Liverpool, feeding
into the revolution and the reckoning that's to come for Liverpool with
her slave history. I come from a lineage of Somali nomads, listening to
the land and being its loudspeaker is just a continuation of my
ancestral purpose and I seem to have embodied that same relationship
with Scouse-land too.
How did your
reading of These Bones
Will Rise Again by Panashe Chigumadzi influence this
artwork?
Chigumadzi stated that bones accumulated in the land
create a spiritual portal, an access point to siphon power from those
who can lend you their strength to keep going, keep dreaming of
liberation. Reading this book had been alongside my park visits and
feeling like I'm in direct contact with ancestors who were wanting to
comfort me. I got courage from them to keep going, to keep making art
and to keep dreaming.
How did the
pandemic affect your art practice?
I had several nervous breakdowns and needed to be
physically taken care of. Because I had this film to produce I would
film a little every day on my camera. I then lost everything due to a
corrupted hard drive and got burgled in my own home and had my camera
stolen that had footage of my project. This destroyed my morale but my
boyfriend encouraged me to film with my phone since I was already going
out to parks to do my meditation. I started meditating to deal with
PTSD, general anxiety and depression, I would go to the parks around
Liverpool to do this and I felt deeply held and comforted by the spirit
of the land.
What are your
goals or ambitions as an artist?
To create art that works towards Black liberation and
Black dreaming. That is anti-colonial, anti-capitalist,
anti-cis-heteronormativity.
A Voice From The Past To The Future
a poem by Kiara Mohamed Amin
You
You are so beautiful
Amongst the mist of the red dust
Amongst the mangrove roots
Amongst the warmth of a sun and community
Amongst the colourful face paints
That ward off evil
You
You are so beautiful In the way that you smile with your mind
In the way that you are unyielding in your spirit
In the way that you chose to always have hope
In the way that you allow the ancestors to be remembered
To live on
You
You are so beautiful
In the way that you take a space
That you know you are not welcomed in
And make it a home
And give it love
And give it forgiveness
And give it a seed for the future
You
You are so beautiful
In the way that you see the pain of the slaves
Etched in the glory of the buildings
In this city
Do you still hear the echoes of your ancestors at the docks?
Mingling loudly with seagulls?
Of course you do
But you comfort them
And tell them you will build a city of love
That the two birds will always protect
You
You are so beautiful
In the way that you absolve pain
Because you know it is time to heal.
Liverpool
We heal you from your past
We feed you with love, acceptance, and togetherness.
You are a beautiful, complicated, textured fabric
Liverpool, ...we start again.