Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński is a Vienna based writer, artist, and researcher whose works manifest themselves through a variety of media.
2023 Biennial Year Find out more
Rooted in Black feminist theory, she has developed a research-based and process-oriented investigative practice that often deals with archives, specifically with the voids in public archives and collections, as well as the conditions of Black life in an ongoing past. Doing so, she interlaces varying spaces and temporalities, thereby resisting a clean-cut separation between the documentary and the fictional. Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński is represented by Gallery Wonnerth-Dejaco, Vienna.
Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński’s works have been shown internationally. Recent solo and group shows include: You are awaited but never as equals (2023), Seven Scenes (2022) Camera Austria Graz, If A Tree Falls In A Forest (2022) Les Recontres d’ Arles, KAS (2022) Centrale Fies, Solo Show (2021) Kunsthalle Wien.
Liverpool Biennial 2023
'Respire' (Liverpool) (2023)
‘Respire (Liverpool)’ references the precarity of Black breathing and proposes breath as a means of individual and collective liberation. In ‘Openings (Red, Black, and Green)’, the artist uses these three colours as coded reminders of the liberatory resistance struggles of the African diaspora, and for Black freedom in general. Accompanied by ´Keep On Keepin’ On (for Nile)´, a soundscape created in collaboration with sound-artist Bassano Bonelli Bassano, the works are committed to giving space to Black breathing to expand and exist freely.
Dedicating the exhibition space to the expansion of breath, Kazeem-Kamiński presents a hauntingly visceral multimedia experience. By positioning breath as both a somatic, bodily response to violence, and also to pleasure and connection, the works investigate breath as a
‘Respire (Liverpool)’ references the precarity of Black breathing and proposes breath as a means of individual and collective liberation. In ‘Openings (Red, Black, and Green)’, the artist uses these three colours as coded reminders of the liberatory resistance struggles of the African diaspora, and for Black freedom in general. Accompanied by ´Keep On Keepin’ On (for Nile)´, a soundscape created in collaboration with sound-artist Bassano Bonelli Bassano, the works are committed to giving space to Black breathing to expand and exist freely. Dedicating the exhibition space to the expansion of breath, Kazeem-Kamiński presents a hauntingly visceral multimedia experience. By positioning breath as both a somatic, bodily response to violence, and also to pleasure and connection, the works investigate breath as a compass to navigate the precarious line between catastrophe and aliveness. Filmed here in Liverpool with local participants, ‘Respire (Liverpool)’ explores the possibilities to breathe freely despite the burden of an ongoing past. The sound moves in waves from the individual to the communal and back again, creating a meditative space. Together, the performers share, hold and imagine breathing space for themselves and others, blurring lines between past, present and future. Commissioned by Liverpool Biennial. All works are produced in collaboration with Phileas – Austrian Office for Contemporary Art, Federal Ministry Republic of Austria Arts, Culture, Civil Service and Sport, and Austrian Cultural Forum London. Courtesy of the artist and Gallery Wonnerth Dejaco. Showing at FACT
'Respire' (Liverpool) (2023)
Showing at FACT
Tuesday to Sunday 11:00am-6:00pm-
Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński, Respire (Liverpool), 2023 © Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski and Gallery Wonnerth-Dejaco, Vienna
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Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński, Respire (Liverpool), 2023 © Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski and Gallery Wonnerth-Dejaco, Vienna
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Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński, Respire (Liverpool), 2023 © Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski and Gallery Wonnerth-Dejaco, Vienna
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Openings (Green), 2023 © Belinda Kazeem-Kaminski and Gallery Wonnerth-Dejaco, Vienna
Credits:
Concepts, camera, dramaturgy and editing: Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński
Community of the breathing: Brayden, Christina Adamu, Ngunan Adamu, Perri Alleyne-Hughes, Elliss Eyo-Thompson, Bea Freeman, Belinda Kazeem-Kamiński, Nina Lipman, David Loy, Pascale, Michelle Peterkin-Walker, Hellen Songa, Heather Joy Tomlinson.
Sound recording, composition and mixing: Bassano Bonelli Bassano
Lighting and technical support: Carl Davies
Editing assistance: Nick Prokesch
Colour grading: Sunanda Mesquita & Nick Prokesch
Makeup: Nathalie Crawford
Line producers: Aimee Harrison & Rudi Hart
Special gratitude to: all of the breath gatherers, Khanyisile Mbongwa and the team at Liverpool Biennial, in particular Dave Berger, Aimee Harrison, Rudi Hart, Sam Lackey, Lily Mellor, Lucinda Riding, and Aoife Robinson; the team at FACT, in particular Carl Davies, Charlotte Horn, Mark Murphy, and Nina Newbold; the team at Phileas, in particular Margeritha Belcredi, Anna Hugo, and Jasper Sharp; Victoria Dejaco, Andrew Hunt, Jennifer John, Femi Kamiński, Pawel Kamiński, Rebecca Loy, Pasquale Rotter, David Schabasser-Diaby, Cindy Sissokho, and Michael Wonnerth-Magnusson.