Profile 5
a writer, it does not come naturally to me. I am more comfortable in the labour and the process rather than forming it into words. Tat is probably the reason why artists make art, as there is no way to express it. However, when I can translate my idea in limited words into a title, it can sometimes contribute to expanding the work and breathe life into it. So, I do respect the power of words without letting them limit the work.
AAN: You presently have an exhibition in Bristol. What are you showing? NJ: My present exhibition is at Spike Island, where I am having my first UK institutional solo show. Te main concept of the show is to create a space for mourning and build a ‘khayamiya’, an intricately hand- embroidered tent that functions as an ornament as well as a shelter. Tey are usually erected in urban spaces in between buildings, serving as temporary shelters made for funerals, weddings or celebrations during Eid. In addition, khayamiya is also a
very famous textile, stemming from ancient craftsmanship, in this case a hand-embroidered appliqué piece. I am recreating that space of gathering with a khayamiya featuring embroidered drawings of plants that are indigenous to Cairo but have been uprooted. I am reanimating, mourning, and memorialising the change in the landscape in Cairo, which is shifting from natural landscapes towards rapid urban development. I want to create a moment of reflection and stillness for the audience, with the khayamiya not necessarily translating as a tent, but more as a canopy, a temporary space that you erect and take down. It is therefore not site specific and if the exhibition were to travel, the canopy could be placed somewhere else in a completely different way. Te textiles can inhabit a space according to where they are placed. In Cairo, these canopies usually
feature stacks of chairs, leftovers of what was a big event that gathered people. I carry this visual memory and create bronze sculptures inspired by these stacks of chairs. Bronze is a monumental material that can withstand the centuries. In my piece, however, I stacked these bronze fragments of chairs in a way that feels temporary, removing the monumentality of the material by placing the fabrics on it. Similarly, in Cairo or the Middle East, the prayer rugs are always placed on a chair. It translates the concept of my practice of the prayer mat that you fold up, pray on, fold back, and put on your chair. With the temporality of the textile, it does not matter where it is, as you construct that spiritual space wherever it is placed. So, I created these bronze sculptures and laid my textiles on them in yhe same way that we lay our prayer mats on the chairs, it is a very temporary form where you just take it out, unroll it, and pack it back.
AAN: In reference to landscape and plants, do you indirectly make an analogy between plants, trees, and humans? NJ: For sure. First, our relationship to space is very similar as we all come from the same soil. Plants resist the borders we construct and impose on each other, and, in my opinion, we should too. I am interested in ideas of transcending borders and that is precisely what plants and trees do. Plants do not understand what borders mean and they simply grow within the fences or beyond the doors. I love seeing trees coming out of the pavement and infiltrate gates. We should have this kind of empathy towards each
other rather than imposing borders. Tere is a lot to learn about nature,
all the more so as we are a part of it. Rather than separating ourselves from it and building on it, we should just be a part of it and grow with it. What I learnt from reacting to nature is that when borders are constructed and imposed on each other they create limits between us. I am definitely trying to make this analogy within my work – our identities are not rooted within borders but are borderless.
AAN: Looking at the world today, it seems we will increasingly be living ‘a rootless existence’. NJ: Absolutely. In this sense, how my work shifted from architectural forms to organic forms and landscapes is all related. Our human existence and our identity are related to the natural landscape because we inhabit these spaces. Tere is not a separation between my ideas of identity and humans and my ideas of plants and nature. It is all one thing.
AAN: You were invited to participate in the 2024 Venice Biennale. Was it an important milestone towards gaining international exposure and asserting your presence in the art world? NJ: Anyone who has any interest in art ends up going to Venice, where the exposure is fantastic. Many people went to see my work after discovering it in Venice. It was probably the most life-changing and amazing experience so far and I am so grateful that it happened. In addition, the theme of the biennale – Foreigners Everywhere – truly aligned with my practice. My work was placed next to artists that I have written about, like Dana Awartani – a Palestinian artist. Many Middle Eastern, Egyptian, and Arab artists that I have looked up to were in the biennale, making the experience even more meaningful to me.
AAN: From your practice, what would you like to leave behind? NJ: I do not want to leave any physical trace or contribution. We need to understand that our art is not made to live forever and that it is about being in the present. If I were to leave one thing behind, it would be for people to be more in the present, to slow down, and to experience time differently. Art is not about leaving a legacy, but about activating the present. It is about spirituality and being in touch with something that transcends time.
• Matters of Time, Spike Island, Bristol, until 11 January 2026
ASIAN ART | OCTOBER 2025
Before the Last Sky (2025), hand-dyed cotton textile, steel, 1000 x 800 x 250 cm
FINE ASIAN ART BUDDHISM AND HINDUISM
TWO-DAY AUCTION 16 - 17 OCTOBER 2025
MORE INFORMATION
A MAGNIFICENT AND HIGHLY IMPORTANT GILT-BRONZE FIGURE OF THE WATER MOON GUANYIN, SOUTHERN SONG- EARLY MING DYNASTY
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