“Elsewhere” is a serious fee and the primary solo exhibition within the UK by Alia Farid. Working in movie, sculpture, and textile, Farid traces histories typically marginalised or obscured by the World North. In her artworks, communities, native practices, and traditions are reconsidered, giving the rhythms of on a regular basis life political significance and efficiency.

Sixteen hand-woven and embroidered rugs span the size of the gallery. Drawing from images, archival materials, and interviews with native individuals, the works element cityscapes—buildings, store fronts, and adverts—that conjure the presence of the Palestinian diaspora in Puerto Rico. Pharmacies and eating places, owned and operated by Palestinians, are woven alongside brightly colored mosques and a menu detailing “Arabic delicacies.”

The results of a detailed collaboration with weavers in Samawa, in southern Iraq, the textiles have been crafted by way of a mix of flat weaving and chain stitching particular to the area. Structure, script (Arabic and Spanish), and conventional woven motifs recur all through, illuminating how migration from one area within the World South to a different, brings forth new meanings, types, and expressions of shared wrestle and solidarity. Hanging in two parallel rows, the set up creates panoramic views, and a layering of lived historical past and day by day routine.

“Elsewhere” is a rising materials archive that traces the methods kinds, symbols, rituals, and different social units coalesce throughout continents. It’s the first chapter of an ongoing analysis challenge, initially conceived in 2013, which maps Arab and South Asian migration to Latin America and the Caribbean. Different websites of investigation embrace Trinidad, Cuba, and Mexico. On this accumulative and iterative course of, “Elsewhere” marks one crossroads on an intricate map.

at Chisenhale Gallery, London
till February 4, 2024