Through a Mirror: writer Ahmad Azzam mirrors Helena Uambembe

Through a Mirror is a series of intimate presentations where one artist mirrors another artist’s work. Each occasion implies a new encounter with an invited poet, musician, dancer, or other artistic practice, who through their own creative understanding mirrors artworks in the biennial exhibition a hand that is all our hands combined.

During Kulturnatta, we have invited Ahmad Azzam, writer from Syria with Palestinian origins and Gothenburg’s former writer in residence.

“I chose I saw you when you watched me die by Helena Uambembe because it confronts the ethics of looking: the title flips power so that the dying subject returns the gaze and names our complicity. In an age of streamed catastrophes, the work insists that “seeing” is never neutral–silence can become participation. For my text-performance (between poetry and theatre), it offers a precise lens on borders, distance, and the polite forms of indifference; I want the piece to turn the audience from witnesses into responsible presences. Not to accuse, but to awaken the possibility of a small, concrete act.” – Ahmad Azzam

Ahmad Azzam is an author with a background in sociology, journalism, literary writing, and screenwriting for television and theatre. Ahmad grew up in Syria, and his involvement in the struggle for freedom through articles and reports critical of the government forced him to flee the country in 2015. In the spring of 2024, his first book in Swedish was published by Smockadoll Förlag.

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The programme is part of Röda Sten Konsthalls programme serie Konstfredag. Take the opportunity to enjoy an AW and board game at Restaurang Röda Sten.