Maryam Jafri will present a lecture-performance called Maryam Jafri vs Mariam Jafri. The lecture-performance is a work in progress and focuses on a photograph of Maryam Jafri’s sculpture Anxiety, that has been turned into a stock photo for licensing by a well known photo agency without the artist’s prior knowledge or permission. After the lecture-performance, there will be time for a broader exploration of Jafri´s practice as well as a discussion with the audience.
For the past fifteen years Jafri has worked across varied media including expanded sculpture, video, and photography, with a specific interest in questioning the cultural and visual representation of history, politics, and economy. Her practice is informed by a research-based, interdisciplinary process that draws upon diverse traditions from literature and theater to pop and conceptual art. Research topics ranging from the production of desire versus the production of goods (Avalon, 2011), the politics of food (Mouthfeel, 2014) to sculptural installations focusing on the impact of graphic design, branding, and display on our everyday habits (Generic Corner, 2015, Product Recall: An Index of Innovation, 2014-2015) to questions of heritage and the role of photography during the process of decolonization in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa (Independence Day 1934-1975, 2009-ongoing). She lives and works in Copenhagen and New York.