Sitting amid the sounds of Farah Al Qasimi’s Mother performance was not only sensorial and all-encompassing, but also took me back to the technology of my 1990s childhood, when ‘noise’ was inescapable and the primary signifier of digital progress. The sound of dial-up internet and the ‘turning on’ of the machine were all part of an orchestra of synthesised hums and blaring noises that I seldom miss. But they were signs that we were embarking on a cultural shift in the ways that information would be recorded, disseminated and received.

Al Qasimi is an artist from the United Arab Emirates, based in Brooklyn, New York. Mother was a lecture-performance set in her photographic display at Tate Modern, with both performance and display touching on themes of spirituality and culture-specific motifs, particularly relating to West Asia. Engulfing the room was an overlap of visual data across the walls: images of fruit, textiles and flowers lay beneath framed images of Al Qasimi’s most notable photographic works, creating an immersive experience for the audience.

To read the entire article on the Tate’s platform, click the following link.