December 20, 2024 |
Osman Yousefzada, 47, is a challenging creative to capture. Renowned for his works that transcend the realms of fashion, writing, conceptual art, his boundary-breaking approach rejects labels. Don’t call him multidisciplinary. He doesn’t work within the standard confines of artistic expression. Whatever the medium, the sentiment he explores is the same, like a red thread that extends through every, intersecting mode of his practice.
Table of Plenty (2024) from Welcome! A Palazzo For Immigrants at this year’s Venice Biennale.Queen Victoria, Tea for 1 (2024), sculpture by John Adams-Acton (1877), wrapped in chintz fabric by Yousefzada and surrounded by accouterments of Empire from Where it Began, Cartwright Hall Art Gallery, Bradford. Photography by Pishadaad Modaressi Chahardehi, David Lindsay and Casey Kelbaugh
When we speak via Zoom during a sunny afternoon in June, he explains his practice. “My multidisciplinary [work] doesn’t overlap,” he says, determined to be understood on his own terms. Instead, he favours an interdisciplinary approach, where creativity thrives in the spaces between fashion, art, literature, film and teaching. His aversion to traditional narratives is expressed in his extensive body of work. “I’ve been doing this for a long time,” he says, “and I resist reducing it to fleeting trends. It’s about weaving a continuous narrative and telling a unified story through diverse lenses, provoking meaningful dialogues about identity, injustice and societal structures.
“I see it all as interconnected,” he continues. “It’s about navigating injustices and speaking truth through art. It’s about telling the same story through different lenses… creating a world where art transcends mere aesthetics.”
Central to Yousefzada’s ethos is the convergence of identities and issues, threaded together to create a richer narrative. He critiques society, particularly capitalism, for perpetuating injustices that hinder true expression and social mobility, “which remains elusive for many,” he says, highlighting the gap between meritocracy and reality. “We have to try harder than that to actually go beyond class. If you went to the right school and earned a particular degree, no matter your background, or if you got a particular job, you automatically enter a world alien to the one you came from. There’s this idea that if you just try hard enough, you’ll get there. For some of us it works, but for many it doesn’t.”
Raised in a working-class family of Pakistani and Afghani immigrants in inner-city Birmingham during the politically tumultuous 1980s, Yousefzada spent his childhood in the embrace of a tight-knit Muslim Pashtun community. Economic upheaval was a spectre, as were the challenges of assimilation as a first-gen Brit from multiple diasporas. “My parents were non-literate and as a child I became the bridge, interpreting letters and navigating social mazes.” This early role as an intermediary planted seeds of resilience and a deep understanding of identity as a fluid construct shaped by external perceptions. That gave rise to his art, which functions as a testament to the creativity that was born out of manoeuvring around societal fractures and cultural dislocation.
Osman Yousefzada in front of untitled works from his Talisman series, photography courtesy of Cesare de Giglio
The Go-Between: A Portrait of Growing Up Between Different Worlds, Yousefzada’s bestselling 2022 book, addresses this. Described by Stephen Fry as “one of the greatest childhood memoirs of our time” and by the journalist Sathnam Sanghera as “an essential book that will help you understand multiculturalism in all its complexities”, it’s a candid account that captures how it feels to be an outsider with a desire to belong – the way Yousefzada has always felt. “That’s the foundation of my work; this idea of a place to belong, a place which is othered. Through that, it’s work that allows you to heal rather than create more situations which fuck up the world in some respect,” he says. “I’m a natural introvert and it’s only later on [in life] that I felt I could occupy space. Normally, I try not to do that because I was brought up not to, to never show off or say I was good at something… and that creates an imposter conversation, where you feel that somehow you’re trying to navigate a space you don’t feel completely at ease with. “When I’ve tried to occupy space in elite spaces, I’ve always had to mimic and pretend to be something I don’t feel I am. So the book was really important for me. It became my foundation to stop lying, to stop telling people that my dad’s a businessman when he’s obviously unemployed. It’s about how the guest, the immigrant, has to perform for the host to feel they can be accepted.”
Although his work is rooted in personal narratives, it exceeds autobiography by embracing broader lived experiences. This perspective underscores his commitment to weaving together diverse elements – from ceramics and glasswork to textile manipulation and photography – to create immersive artistic environments that engage viewers on multiple sensory levels.
In his studio, nestled in the Holborn outpost of art foundation The Bomb Factory, he crafts these convention-defying narratives and reimagines spaces that are often overlooked. His explorations of these sociopolitical themes were brought to life in global exhibitions including Welcome! A Palazzo for Immigrants at the current Venice Biennale, Where It Began at Cartwright Hall, Bradford, Queer Feet at Charleston in Firle, Sussex, and his ongoing show Osman Yousefzada: When will we be good enough? at The Box, Plymouth.
At Venice’s Palazzo Franchetti, in collaboration with the V&A and Fondazione Berengo, Welcome! A Palazzo for Immigrants places visitors in a dreamlike exploration of identities. The display is underscored by a soundscape of vocal hums or whispered blessings and punctuated by symbolic objects like peppers, for warding off evil, or hand-blown glass effects modelled after household tools. An exploration of domesticity and displacement runs deep in his glasswork, given that it’s inspired by his mother’s practice of wrapping the family’s belongings amid the uncertainties of migration. This motif, which he translates into sculptures and textiles, speaks to the human experience of seeking refuge and belonging. His exploration of Queen Victoria wrapped in chintz fabric (at Cartwright Hall), for instance, is a poignant commentary on imperial histories and their repercussions. The piece tells the viewer how these textiles, then signs of wealth and power, also symbolise the complex dynamics of colonialism and cultural exchange.
Sculpture 1011, Murano glass, photography by Jules Monnier courtesy of Lo Studio – Nadja Romain
Through these talismanic creations, Yousefzada crafts an experience where viewers cross thresholds into imagined spaces of belonging and resistance. “These works were made in deep silence for our other dreams to surface,” he says. “It’s a dream space because a palazzo for immigrants doesn’t exist.”
When will we be good enough? looks at colonial histories through a fresh lens, using sculpture to explore the parallels between historic ocean-travel routes and modern submarine data cables, looking at how patterns of power and exploitation persist in the digital age. Yousefzada’s work resonates as a political act – an obligation to challenge systemic injustices and uplift marginalised communities. “We all have a duty to open doors to each other,” he says of the commitment to social engagement through art. “Brexit exploited divisions, scapegoating immigrants while erasing their contributions to British society.” Yousefzada aims to sculpt a counter-narrative, challenging myths of belonging and advocating for more inclusive cultural exchange.
“Art,” he tells me, “is a language of resistance – a means to dismantle barriers and foster dialogue across diverse communities.” Yousefzada’s teaching philosophy – he’s a visiting professor of interdisciplinary practice at the Birmingham School of Art and a research practitioner at London’s Royal College of Art – emphasises inclusivity and empowerment by nurturing a new generation of artists that are poised to challenge and reshape the cultural landscape.
Scaffolding tower of wrapped belongings signifying stories of female immigrant lives from Where it Began, A wrap of the Diana the Huntress statue outside Cartwright Hall, it expresses a refusal of female adornment in masculine architecture, photography by Pishadaad Modaressi Chahardehi, David Lindsay and Casey Kelbaugh
“I teach conversations across boundaries,” he states, “by discussing practice and otherness beyond the confines of traditional disciplines. “It’s [about] how you occupy space. You can’t always talk about injustice when you have defined borders. We talk about intersection as actually ‘me’, a person of colour, a queer person, as a kind of alternative. It’s those intersections which create that interdisciplinarity. It mirrors the same ideas of intersectionality and that’s how I approach my work. I talk about the same concept, but I operate through a different lens and tell the same story, though through different mediums. In that way, it becomes a kind of world-building.”
Another central pillar of Yousefzada’s artistic ethos is a commitment to amplify female stories through a queer lens. “I’m not an alpha male,” he tells me matter-of-factly. “I occupy spaces that resonate more with female environments or craft spaces.” This perspective informs all of his works, inviting viewers into a world where domesticity meets resistance and confronts patriarchal structures through art. “My work challenges preconceived notions by reclaiming spaces that are often marginalised as ‘female’ and reframes them as sites of empowerment and cultural critique.”
Having shown collections at London Fashion Week, Yousefzada also has a hand in the creation of textile-based explorations of the same themes. “Fashion, to me, has always been about identity politics, not mere trend-chasing.”
He infuses his designs with intricate details and craftsmanship that speak volumes. From meticulously draped fabrics to bold silhouettes, his pieces exude a sense of confidence and defiance, urging wearers to embrace their true selves.
It’s been a couple of years since he traversed the fashion world. “I still make performative clothing, though,” he says, distancing himself from commodified art. “It operates in a different way [and] not letting go of something I’m good at.” This commitment to authenticity underscores his refusal to conform to market-driven expectations; he instead embraces art as a medium for personal storytelling and cultural comment. At the core of his practice lies a celebration of process. “Each creation, whether a painting or a garment, embodies its own distinct narrative and laborious process.”
Yousefzada’s legacy is one of courage – an invitation to reimagine art as a force for social change and cultural understanding. His journey from a marginalised immigrant upbringing to becoming a beacon of artistic innovation exemplifies the transformative power of creativity and resilience in confronting societal challenges. As he navigates the complexities of identity and representation, he remains committed to a vision of inclusivity and justice, leaving an indelible mark on the artistic and social fabric of contemporary Great Britain.
Taken from 10+ Issue 7 – DECADENCE, MORE, PLEASURE – out NOW. Order your copy here.
The Go-Between: A Portrait of Growing Up Between Different Worlds by Osman Yousefzada was published by Canongate Books in 2022
