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Berwick New Cinema Award︎
FILM
Except, this time nothing comes back from the ashes (2023) dir. Asmaa Jama + Gouled Ahmed
Commissioned by Spike Island, Except this time nothing comes back from the ashes is a moving image project exploring self-portraiture, archiving and memory. The film follows ghostly, glitchy presences haunting a city, each figure representing those who exist in the margins or the periphery. The poetic narrative of the film asks: Who is remembered and why? Who is erased from the narratives of the nation? Through these questions, we examine the ways canons are built and can be corrupted.
Past exhibitions:
Spike Island, Bristol, June - September 2023.
Africa Centre, New York, June - September 2024.
New Contemporaries; ICA, London, KARST Plymouth, 2025.
Installation shots:
Spike Island, photographed by Dan Weill, 2023.The film was surrounded by a colourful octagonal wall. Decorated with cut-outs of geometric designs, reminiscent of the patterns found in the film, this structure is a homage to East Africa’s built environment.
In the back perimeter, the installation Ash is our inheritance comprises a poem written directly on the wall, a line of charcoal, and a black and white chequered vinyl floor that evokes the interiors of African photography studios. In the text, I explored the notion of the aftermath, and how to understand the past when all that is left is ash and ruins.
As part of the programming, I curated at both venues, I invited artists; MA.MOYO, sanka sounds, Caleb Giles, Ladan Osman, Samiya Bashir and keiyaA, to propose alternate sonic scores for the film.
Caleb Giles saxophonist, performing at Africa Centre, NY, 2024.