Hi, I’m Noor Afasa, and I’m part of the Bradford 2025 Community Trainee Audio Description Team. Welcome to this exhibition of Mohammed Sami’s work.

Mohammed Sami’s work is based in a room at the right far end, after coming up the stairs in Cartwright Hall. There are two transparent, glass doors that read ‘Mohammed Sami’ above them. As you walk in, the gallery space is of warm colours, wooden flooring with white walls, the bottom half of which are covered in wooden panelling – fitting the Victorian-style of the building.

The paintings are lined up on the wall, going all around the rectangular room. In front of which, each painting has a barrier created by white string attached to short grey stands.

In the middle, but along the length of the room, are four dark grey benches – a simple flat style bench with no backs – so you can sit facing either side.

Mohammed Sami is nominated for the Turner Prize 2025, for his solo exhibition ‘After the Storm’ at Blenheim Palace. He was born in Baghdad, now based in London.

The overall description provided within the exhibition, as written on a wall within the space, reads as follows:
Mohammed Sami uses metaphor and ambiguity to create paintings about memory and conflict.

For his Turner Prize presentation, Sami brings together paintings he created after an invitation to exhibit new work at Blenheim Palace. Built in the 18th century to reward the military triumphs of the first Duke of Marlborough, the palace is adorned with art that can be seen as glorifying warfare and power – a viewpoint challenged by Sami’s paintings.

Sami’s works are often created from fragmented or distorted memories evoking scenes that feel familiar yet unplaceable. His paintings appear to lack a clear narrative, instead using titles and visual metaphors to offer possible readings.

In refusing to offer a single meaning, Sami challenges the notion that historical events and memories are fixed, instead suggesting that they can be subjective, emotional or even unstable.

Hiroshima Mon Amour, a key work in the series, appears to show wind, light or a more violent force reacting with a watery surface.

The Hunter’s Return references works from art history, such as Hunters in the Snow (Winter) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder or The Hunt in the Forest by Paolo Uccello. The painting depicts a military laser in a dust storm, it remains unclear who is the hunter and who is the hunted. Reborr hints at the continued threat of authoritarianism by placing a moth on a semi-erased portrait of a military figure, while On Air alludes to the explosive power of speech and propaganda.

These paintings invite the viewer to consider the causes and effects of conflict. Each canvas becomes a space for tension between history, memory and individual interpretation.

 

Reborn:

Reborn is a painting, as big as a flipchart, mainly exposing a torso of a military figure, dressed in official uniform. The person’s face isn’t visible, a dark, charcoal-like, textured overlay makes it seem as though the painting has begun to deteriorate.
On the dark overlay, where the face would have been visible, a brown moth with white stripes has been painted – a symbol of transformation, destruction and sometimes death. Adding to the gloomy connotations of the painting.

The military figure is dressed in a forest green blazer, with yellow shoulder boards. White collars peak out from where the figure’s neck and chin is still visible. Red and gold sashes contrast the dullness of the painting, along with multiple, colourful badges and medals across the left side of the figure – suggesting high rank. There is a calm chaos created by the clutter of colours and emblems.

The dark, textured overlay covering the top half, also travels to other parts of the painting, obscuring different parts. It hides quite a bit of the figure’s right side, bringing more focus on to the clutter of medals – leaning into Sami’s hint at the continued threat of authoritarianism (which Sami has also hinted by placing a moth on the semi-erased portrait). There is also a subtle splatter of paint on the left side, as if the artist flicked the brush at the canvas.

This piece is quite striking, bold in both its message and the minimal pop of colours. Despite that, the gloomy, black overlay is what holds this overall haunting tension.

 

On Air:

On Air is the smallest painting in the collection, roughly A3 size. Like Reborn, this painting ‘On Air’ is dominated by a dull, black canvas, evoking a sense of emptiness and vastness. It has the same dark textured overlay, with subtle hints of orange light right at the bottom of the painting.

The only object on the painting is a orange- reddish lightbulb shape, on the right side but central. Above, there’s a suggestion of minimal light through soft strokes of white acrylic paint. Fittingly, there’s a sort of glow to the lightbulb shape. Unexpectedly, but unmistakably, there seems to be a smoke of cloud in the bulb – maybe a nuclear explosion? It evokes tension, a sort of threat present within the painting, intensified with the contrast between the danger of an explosion and the fragility of the bulb’s glass.

‘On Air’ can be taken as a visual metaphor, alluding to the explosive power of speech and propaganda, the unknown dangers within humans’ capability – all fitting in well with Sami’s tendency to use metaphors and ambiguity to create paintings about memory and conflict.

 

Hiroshima Mon Amour:

Hiroshima Mon Amour covers the wall it is on, much larger than the previous paintings, and is portrait. It is an atmospheric painting, depicting the image and feeling of being submerged underwater. It has the angle as if we were to look up to see the water’s surface is above us.

It is separated into two sections; the top half shifts throught turquoise, blue and green paint strokes, creating the image of a shimmering water’s surface. The paint techniques portrays a sense of light seeping through and reflecting off the ripples – the texture creating movement. The light allows us to believe that it must be daylight behond the surface.

The lower half of the canvas doesn’t hold the same light. Although it isn’t dull, it is darker in comparison, may be more correct to say, in the shadows. This is deeper waters, indicated by the cool, greyish blue paint. Floating in the deeper water, is what seems to be a shirt and jacket. They are translucent but also painted in green earthy hues. The movement is created by the way they have been painted, moving gently with the current – adding a sense of mystery and bleakness.

It’s almost a distorted, dream-like image of the underwater world, with no figures or people, just water and weightless garments. The absence of a body raises questions of who the garments may belong to, where have they come from, and how have they ended up in the water?

Hiroshima Mon Amour is undeniably a beautiful, relaxing depiction of the underwater life, but this specific depiction, with the clothes, becomes more melancholy the more you take it in.

 

The Hunter’s Return:

In comparison to the other paintings, ‘The Hunter’s Return’ is much larger, and is landscape – taking up most of the wall it’s on, directly across from the gallery room’s door.

The painting is of a vast landscape, perhaps of a forest, as suggested by the sparse, swaying palm trees. The swaying isn’t calm, but more as if there is intense winds. There’s also some that have fallen. The backdrop is of a burnt reddish orange, with glows of yellow. This could be seen as a sunset, or from a fire, creating this sense of danger. But the wind paired with these colours suggests as a dust storm.

Dark, shadowed clouds linger at the top, hiding some of this orange light. Perhaps this is smoke. This deliberate darkness, along with the dark debris and dust, at the bottom of the painting, heavily contrast the bright orange glares. There are no figures or people in this painting, yet you can sense a presence.

The lower half of the painting, shadowed and dull, showing grass and disturbed land, is where the painting seems tangible, as a result of layered paint, and some places where it has been scraped.

The most striking element of this painting, is three neon green lines, resembling lasers, coming in from the bottom, the left, and the right side of the painting – all closely meeting in the middle. This is what creates the unknown presence in the painting, along with hidden green dots in the far left corner, as if there’s other people within the painting. Lasers like these are often used to search, are these lasers being used to search for people or objects? Who is searching and who is being searched? The painting allows for a sense of calm, but an eery calm.

The Hunter’s Return references works from art history, such as Hunters in the Snow (Winter) by Pieter Bruegel the Elder or The Hunt in the Forest by Paolo Uccello. The painting depicts a military laser in a dust storm, it remains unclear who is the hunter and who is the hunted.

 

Massacre:

Massacre is placed on the right side of ‘The Hunter’s Return’, both paintings are of similar size, large and landscape, almost occupying most of the wall they are hung on.

Unlike the others, this painting wouldn’t correctly be described as ‘striking’. It doesn’t have the same obvious violent connotations as the others in this series – this one feels more calm, yet ambiguous.

The top third is filled with a clutter of dark green leaves and bushes, dotted with the occasional sunflower, and some subtle yellow hues. Right at the top edge, but central, there seems to be an opening in these overgrown bushes.

It is overall dominated by neutral brown, grey and beigey tones. All helping create this muddy, dusty floor, that occupies the lower two thirds.

Brown paint has been layered, almost smothered, along the bottom half, suggesting this painting is in an outdoor setting (along with the bushes of course) – with a dusty, uneven floor – the brown paint creates this muddy, sand-like texture. Within it are small, but multiple, horseshoe shapes, interpreted as footsteps. Fitting other examples of Sami’s work, there is an absence of a figure in this painting, but not the lack of a presence. although it is unclear whether the footsteps belong to a human, or humans, or maybe even an animal.

Arguably, it’s these footsteps that create ambiguity – who do they belong to? And the multiple footsteps, all facing towards the opening, were they running? And what were they running from.

The painting is almost a zoomed in snapshot of a bigger setting, where what lies beyond the opening is unknown, as well as where this painting is currently set. Adding to this sense of urgency, created by the supposed rushed footsteps, is the green leafy branch left trampled in the middle of the floor. It is obvious that nature has been disturbed during this attempt of running from or running to something.

The initial calm, quiet feeling becomes more complicated and unsettling the closer you look at the details of the painting.

 

White Flash/Dark materials:

Dominated by dark and shadowy hues, the ‘White Flash/ Dark materials’ has been painted in different combinations of black, white and greyish paint, and is roughly the same size as ‘Hiroshima Mon Amour’.
The top half loosely resembles cloudy skies, a mix of smoky grey hues with the smallest bit of white, like sunlight hidden behind clouds. Towards the top edge, the paint is more soft and smooth, eventually becoming grey strokes of paint in the middle, layered onto the lighter undertones.

Here, again, there are splatters of paint as if the artist has flicked his brush towards the canvas. It’s paired with more deliberate splatters too, creating an image of falling ash, maybe burnt paper or something similar.

The bottom third is painted in intense strong black paint, with an easy-to-miss shift from smooth strokes of black to uneven, layered strokes of paint.

Within this, in the bottom edge and corners, there are (what seems to be) off-white plates with small coloured patterns. Some of them are hidden by the black paint, making it look as though they have been consumed or flowing in the unknown, empty space.

 

THE GRINDER:

The painting is immediately established to be from birds-eye view, on a big, landscape canvas. The background is of a brownish pink, with blue and green paint scraped on top in various, seemingly random, places – it seems to be the floor or ground.
The use of the scraped and layered paint shows the painting to be chipping away, deliberately creating a sense of deterioration and neglect.

Within the layered paint surface, which creates the image of the floor, two circular outlines are peeping through. Perhaps this is the pattern of the floor, the larger circle seems to be filled with this mint green and the smaller circle within the bigger one, inhabits a criss-cross pattern.

The smaller circle is placed perfectly in the centre, where a circular oak wooden table stands; darker layers of paint besides it, posing as it’s shadow. On both sides of the table, are two teal chairs, with yellow goldish arm rests – suggesting the painting is of a lavish space – or what used to be.

This brings us back to the same sense of neglect, reflected both in the texture of the painting but also the lack of a presence, somewhere where you would expect people to be sat.

On the table and chairs, there is a large shadow of a ceiling fan; a small circle in the middle with four, long rectangular shapes coming out. We know this is a ceiling fan, because one of the blades is poking out from the top right edge of the painting.

With all of these elements being in the centre, it makes it the centre of attention – who sat here? What did they discuss? And why is it now empty?

And that’s the end of the audio description for Mohammed Sami’s exhibition – Thank you for listening.

We are part of Bradford 2025’s community trainee team.

In this exhibition, there are 8 drawings and 10 sculptures. We will give you an overview and a sense of the exhibition. We will talk about the overall vibe and feel, and then we will also audio describe a few of our favourite pieces in more detail.

 

Text on the wall reads:

Nnena Kalu makes large-scale hanging sculptures and drawings. Her bold abstract works use mark making, layering, different materials and scales.

This exhibition brings together sculptures originally made for Manifesta 15 in Barcelona. Kalu has reworked these sculptures here at Cartwright Hall Art Gallery.

Alongside them are a selection of drawings from an ongoing series started in 2021. These drawings featured in Conversations, an exhibition at the Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool.

To create her sculptures, Kalu begins with a loop, tube or structure that forms a base. Around these forms she wraps, folds and knots streams of repurposed fabric, rope, tape, cling film, paper and VHS tape.

These brightly coloured lengths and strips come together to form bundles, sometimes resembling nests or cocoons. Finishing her works on site, Kalu responds to the space and character of where she is working.

Kalu’s drawings echo her sculptures, often consisting of powerful vortexes made with swirling, overlapping lines. The drawings here were made after the COVID-19 pandemic. This is when she was awarded a studio in recognition of her developing practice. This followed years of sharing with other artists.

This extra space allows Kalu to work on a larger scale, creating drawings of a greater intensity than before.They could also point to a release of creative energy following the lockdowns and a period of being unable to make work.

 

In this exhibition, you can find:

In the centre of the room:
Hanging Sculpture 1 – 10
Barcelona/Bradford
2024/25

Plastic tubing, fabrics, adhesive tapes, plastics, VHS tape, paper and rope

Clockwise around the room:

Drawing 12
2021
Acrylic pen, pen, graphite and soft pastel on paper.

Drawing 4
2021
Pen on paper

Drawing 29
2022
Acrylic pen, pen and graphite on paper

Drawing 40
2022
Acrylic paint stick, pen, chalk and graphite on paper

Drawing 46
2022
Pen, graphite and oil sticks on paper

Drawing 53
2022
Ink, pen and graphite on paper

Drawing 72
2022
Acrylic pen and pen on paper

Drawing 14
2021
Acrylic pen, pen and oil pastel.

All pieces courtesy of the artist, ActionSpace London and Arcadia Missa, London.

Each drawing is made up of 2 separate images, which are neatly hung side by side throughout the grand oak panelled walls of the gallery and one of the drawings is made up of 3 images.

Each pair, or trio of images are extremely similar, often almost a carbon copy of each other, in both colour and pattern. The images are made up of swirls, squiggles and intricate scribbles.

The large sheets of paper are all yellow or white. They are rectangular or square, hung high like portraits and could be compared to the size of single, queen and king sized mattresses.

As you enter the gallery and turn immediately left, you will find the first drawing. This drawing is made up of 2 images, both are the size of a single mattress. They are hung directly next to each other.

The paper is white and the drawings are in black, bright pink, baby blue, regal purple, and royal blue colours. There appears to be a mix of pen, paints and oil sticks used to create the swooping and circling designs.

Most of the paper is covered in layer upon layer of multi coloured swirls and squiggles. In the lower half of each image, there is a rectangular patch. Here, some of the white of the paper still can be seen, adding to the texture of the drawing.

The metallic nature of the silver ink, catches and glimmers in the light.

Sometimes the marks are long and swooping. Other times they are smaller with more detailed shape.

The detail of the design shows the movement and rhythm used in its creation. The marks are like airplane trails, left behind after Kalu’s dance has finished.

If you follow the outer edge of the gallery, you will find the remaining drawings.

In the centre of the room you can find the 3D sculptures. They hang from the ceiling and fill the majority of the space in the room.

Neon pink tape marks an outline on the floor. This helps visitors to keep a safe distance from the sculptures.

The 10 pieces are hung in a zig zag formation at different heights throughout the space.

Some hang vertically and others horizontally with pink ropes from stainless steel scaffolding, almost like clouds in the sky. Kalu uses similar materials in the construction of all these large sculptures but no two sculptures are the same!

The materials used are mostly vibrant colours.

Pink, blue, silver, green, orange, purple, red, gold, yellow. Cardboard, tape, netting, plastic ribbon, paper, plastic mesh, all wrapped around the barely seen inner tubes that form the base of each sculpture.

Like the drawings on the wall, there is layer upon layer of materials, they bulge through each other, creating bumps, lumps, and rippled textures.

Whilst brightly coloured, each sculpture is wrapped in part with black sticky tape or VHS tape. This adds further dimension and shape.

They’re like individual characters. Some are shaped like large wiggly donuts. Others look like bulging cocoons, almost ready to release into their butterfly forms.

On entering the gallery, you will immediately meet one of these sculptures. It’s shaped like a large pretzel, or a figure of 8. It’s hanging horizontally.

At it’s tallest point, at the centre of the pretzel, it’s roughly the same height as a postbox. The sculpture is chunky and bulky, if you traced your hand over it, you would feel the highs and the lows like a rolling hillside.

True to Kalu’s artistic practice, the materials wrap around each other, with glimpses of the layers below peeking or popping through. You can sense the movement and the repetition used to create the sculpture.

It’s almost like a heavily bubble wrapped item, each layer holding and protecting the next. Loops of cardboard, sometimes corrugated add smaller rippled textures.

The VHS tape and the metallic ribbons look glossy under the gallery lighting. This contrasts with the other more matte materials. Some of the layers have broken free and hang more loosely, on occasion reaching to the floor.

Curled lavender and sea blue paper hang gently like ringlet hair. Black cable ties fall more heavily from the sculpture like a thick horse mane.

The remaining nine sculptures float nearby with their complementary colours and textures.

This Audio Description was brought to you by Bradford 2025s community trainee team.

We hope you enjoyed listening to our interpretation.

Hello and welcome to the exhibit for artist Rene Matic. I’m Hope and I’m part of the Bradford 2025 Community Audio Description team.

Rene Matic works primarily with photography as well as sculpture, textiles, sound and other media. Their artwork questions identity, society and how we find a sense of belonging.

Created amid a backdrop of right-wing populism, violence and political hypocrisy, Matic’s exhibition As Opposed to the Truth explores how, despite this, people can ‘hold on to one another, care for each other, and learn to live with vulnerability, as they explain.

Matic has a longstanding interest in flags and the meanings we place in them, whether used by nation states or individuals at protests. In the centre of the room hangs a white flag containing the words ‘no place’ and ‘for violence. It quotes a chorus of American political leaders who, in the wake of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump in July 2024, proclaimed that there is no place for violence in democracy.

Matic points to the contradictions between political words and actions at a time of increasing global conflict.

In contrast, other works explore notions of care, emotion and the reality of human experience. Restoration is a growing collection of antique Black dolls, many of which were left broken or abandoned and have been salvaged by the artist. Drawing from their own history, including a beige wall colour from their family home, the work speaks to caring for those who may have been left behind.

Feelings Wheel, a photo series, and 365, a sound installation, bring together overlapping imagery and sounds referencing protest, parties and relationships. Together, they reflect the fractured realities of contemporary life.

The exhibit is in a large room. There are white flats all around forming the rectangular space.

The floor is made of thin wooden planks in various shades of brown. There is black tape on the floor to produce a barrier to the artwork.

In each of the corners of the room at the top of the walls is a speaker playing various songs and clips.

As you walk into the room there is a platform made of a temporary wall.

On the platform is a single photo encased in glass, centred. The glass is the size of an average house window, and the photo is the size of a persons hand. The photo shows a close up of a pub window, the blue paint of the window panes peeling away with age. Stuck to the window is a white piece of paper reading ‘Private Party’ in small black font. Above the paper is a flag of England, and below the paper we can notice that the pub is empty of people

On the other side of the platform there are three shelves built into the temporary wall. This is to display the artwork called ‘Restoration’. Each of the three shelves is covered in a myriad of black baby dolls in various conditions, and from various times in history. The skin of the dolls varies from a deep black to medium brown. Most of the dolls are made from plastic, though a select few are ceramic or soft material. Some of the dolls appear quite old, with paint spots missing and hair pulled out. Other dolls are kept pristine in their original plastic packaging. The dolls are in a variety of sizes, some as small as a persons thumb, and others as large as a real baby. Not all of the dolls are complete. Some are missing limbs, or hair, and for some all that remains is their head or arms.

Many of the dolls have had their clothes removed, some are seemingly wearing their originals, and a couple are in homemade knitted garments.

The dolls are all carefully placed sitting or lying down, and facing out to us.

Facing the dolls, suspended from the ceiling in the middle of the room is a very large white canvas sheet. The sheet is almost the height and width of the entire room. The material is hung up by its top two corners, and sags in the middle due to it’s weight. Written across the length of the fabric, one side reads ‘No Place’ and the other reads ‘For Violence’ in black block capitals.

The final piece is called ‘Feelings Wheel’ and is made up of 40 photographs in various sizes encased in glass. The piece spans the length of the leftmost wall and curves around to include some of the north and south walls.

Starting from the left and moving to the right the first photo is of a pavement by a canal. The picture is taken from across the canal and on the other side in white spray paint it reads ‘Free all Antifas’. The writing is clearly reflected in the water. The photo depicts early autumn with the leaves on the trees various shades of brown and green, and many littering the ground by the trunks.

The next photo is taken in a nightclub of three people dancing, the harsh lights encase the dancers in a red hue, with a green light appearing just behind them. It is reminiscent of the Northern Lights. The leftmost dancer is wearing a black leotard, with the part covering their chest being mostly sheer. They turn their head away from the camera. The second dancer appears to be in drag make up and wears a voluminous white petticoat up to their mid thigh, and a matching fascinator on their head. The last dancer is a man wearing only underwear and a black waistcoat. He has dark sunglasses and a large silver chain around his neck. He is heavily tattooed, including a snake climbing up his thigh and a blackout sleeve on his left arm.

The next image shows a white woman with two blonde plaits over her shoulders. She wears large circular glasses, a Star of David necklace, and a blue vest top which she is lifting slightly over her stomach. She is holding part of the fat on her stomach to inject it with a hormone syringe.

Slightly overlapping with this image is a much smaller picture depicting two people’s naked torsos next to each other. The person on the left has tanned skin, defined abs, and one breast exposed, showing a nipple piecing. The person on the left has paler skin, and is only showing part of their stomach and belly button.

In the next photo a person stands on a simple stage holding a microphone with a long green wire. Behind them the wall is covered in brown and gold semi-sheet curtains from floor to ceilng. The person has long black hair which is shaved at the sides, and pale skin. They wear a black graphic tee and black trousers. They look to the left where there is a man sat with a laptop open on his legs. He is wearing a T shirt of the Tardis from Doctor Who and a blue Hawaiian style shirt over the top.

Above the man is another photo layered on top. This is a photo of the artist Rene Matić. The picture is in black and white and shows Rene taking a photo of themselves in the mirror with their canon camera. They are dressed plainly in a white vest.

To the right there is a picture of two people leaning against a window sill. Both of which dressed for a night out. The person on the left is a light-skinned black woman with shoulder length blonde braids adorned with beads. She wears a bodycon black and brown dress which does down from her chest but also covers her arms. She looks at the camera smiling brightly.

The person on the right is a dark-skinned black person with long black braids. They’re wearing a grey cropped vest which says ‘Long Beach’ and comfortable black trousers. They smile, looking at something to the right.

The next photo is of some flats above shops in a town centre. The building is ornate, with pillars and balconies, but the shop fronts are shown just out of frame. In the foreground there are many flags and protest signs. The signs read ‘End the Siege’ and ‘End Israeli state terror’. The flags being waved are the Palestinian flag. In the window of one of the flats a woman leans out waving a small Palestinian flag of her own.

We are now onto the photos along the back wall. The first is a small photo depicting a make shift kiosk outside of a closed down store. The kiosk is made from a very large green garden umbrella. Underneath the umbrella there is various Union Jack paraphernalia including bunting by the top of the umbrella and full sized flags around the base. On one of these full-sized flags is a photograph of King Charles the 3rd.

To the right of this is a much larger black and white photo, around a metre in height. The photo depicts two people’s faces incredibly close to each other, eyes closed, almost kissing. The figure on the left is a person of colour with very short blonde hair and a dark moustache. They’re wearing a revealing white lace vest which tapers as it gets to their side. The figure on the right is a white Person with a short dark beard and moustache. Their dark hair is slicked back and lands at the nape of their neck. On their head is a leather cap adorned with a silver chain. They’re wearing a black lace top with the mid section removed showing their mid-drift.

Placed on top of the shoulder of the left person is another photograph. In this photo there are two people looking at a phone, laughing at what they see. Both are black women, one bald, the other with short black hair. They wear large fluffy coats, one brown, one black. They’re sat in front of a wall showing exposed brick work.

Next to the photo of the two almost kissing is a picture of a lighting rig of a night club. There are silver poles running along the top of the picture with black tape placed along them periodically. There is one pole coming down vertically. Attached to this pole is a stage light, and attached to the light is a ripped piece of florescent yellow cardboard. Written on the cardboard in red capitals is ‘Pissed Off Trannies’.

There is a Photo of a living room. A woman stands in the centre facing towards the camera, eyes closed, holding a cigarette to her mouth. Behind to her right there are two people sat on the sofa laughing mid-conversation. They seem to be talking to someone who is just out of frame, only their forearms are visible.

The next photo is of a white baby in a bath, the baby appears to be around 6 months old. The baby is stood in the bath, holding onto the rim for support. In the babies mouth there is a yellow rubber duck with the head poking out towards the camera. A white womans hand is supporting the baby’s right arm while the other rests on the bathside.

Behind the photograph of the living room and the baby is a larger picture. The picture seems to be a person dancing, yellow, blue, and red lights above their head. The photo is distorted and blurred, making it hard to see any specifics, but the figure appears to be reaching forwards.

To the right of the baby photo is a picture of a person of colour’s abdomen. They are wearing light grey jogging bottoms which cover their belly button. Their stomach skin is shown to just below their chest where the photo cuts off.

The next photo is a couple kissing, closed-eyes, in a dark room, the camera flash lighting their faces. The person on the left is white woman with short straight black hair. The person on the right holds the black haired woman’s face gently in the kiss, on their hand is a tattoo reading ‘Venus’. They have short brown hair with the tips of the fringe dyed a burnt orange. Their ear has multiple piercings in it and they wear a bright green shirt.

Layered on top of this photo is a smaller picture of a brown wooden fence with the word ‘Gay’ quickly spray painted on.

To the right of this is an equally sized photo of a protest for Palestine, various Palestinian flags being flown. In the centre of the photo something has caught on fire and is encased in a cloud of black smoke. Multiple people have their phones raised taking pictures of the smoke.

The next photograph is one of the largest in the collection, around a metre in height. It is of a large brick building. Attached to the wall towards the top of the photo is a bronze statue of Jesus his arms open and inviting. Below him there is a white canopy over a collapsible table. On the table there are various food items such as bread and packaged vegetables. On the floor around the table there are rubbish bags and opened packets of food. 4 black crows are sat underneath the table.

Slightly overlapping with this picture is a black and white close up image of a garage door with ‘Unite or Perish’ spray painted on.

Next to this is a picture of a flower memorial by the side of a road attached to a signpost. There are many green, yellow, and black flowers arranged to form the Jamaican flag. The Jamaican flag tributes stands proudly, taking up most bottom part of the photograph. Above this tribute there are dozens of flower bouquets placed atop taped or zip-tied to the sign post. A person in a large black coat stands facing away in the background.

In the next photo a blonde white woman is lounging in a chair. She is wearing a baggy black zip up jacket and black trousers with a silver chain. She looks at the camera with a neutral but slightly coy expression. Her eyebrows are thin and dark, drawn on with an eyebrow pencil. On the wall behind her there is a painting of a baseball player in a Pop Art style.

There is a photo of the first page of a memorial book. Printed as part of the book it says ‘In Loving Memory’, written underneath in black pen it reads ‘Dad, Our Hero, VIP, Legend and Superstar’.

To the right is a large photo of the backs of some people at a music concert. All of the people are facing the stage. The person of focus in the image stands in the middle facing away. They have curly brown hair and are wearing a Yamulka coloured with the trans flag.

Layered atop this photo and covering the back of the aforementioned person is a picture of a closed down shop front. The shop sign says ‘Clapham Home Care’. The dark shutters of the store are down, and the words ‘Mine As’ and ‘Steal from the Rich’. An old man stands outside where the door would be holding a shopping bag. He is facing to the right and looks down at the ground in front of him, dejected. The photograph is taken from the other side of the road, the crossing lights showing a red man.

The next photo is much smaller, the size of the palm of a hand. The picture is dark but shows 9 candles arranged randomly burning in a dark room. There are some missing places where candles could possibly fit.

A larger photo is to the right, it appears to be taken backstage at a night club, red lights from different pieces of equipment shine in the background. In the foreground there is a topless white person with red hair to the nape of their neck. Their right arm is raised straight up, obscuring their face, and their left arm is bent holding the back of their head. They have red lipstick and matching red nail polish. On the black wall behind them there is a printed painting of a woman, as well as a picture of a woman in a mirror.

Atop this photo, covering the chest of the topless person is another photo. In the middle of the photo is a plate with a half eaten small chocolate cake. On the table next to the plate are cake crumbs and birthday candles in different colours. There is a hand reaching out to the plate with rings on its central three fingers and a tattoo of a bull dog in the centre. Below the hand there is a bill for a meal, as well as a one pound 31 tip in change.

We are now at the final section of the photographs along part of the North Wall

The first pictrue on this wall is of two masculine-presenting people kissing.The person on the left is white and has short black hair, with the sides shaved, but slightly longer sideburns, and a short horseshow moustache. They are wearing a lowcut black vest top, exposing their chest hair, and a silver chain necklace. The look as a whole is reminiscent of Freddie Mercury. The person on the left has a ginger mohawk about 3 inches in height and a short, thick ginger beard. They hold the person on the left in the kiss, right hand placed on the back of their neck. They’re wearing a black mesh shirt over a red vest with layered silver chain necklaces. In their ear they have two long fingerlenght earrings, one in the ear lobe, and one in the helix.

A restaurant sign which reads ‘Glorious Britain’. The colouring is very faded with time but once showed the Union Jack. Aside from the sign the rest of the building seems freshly painted with dark blue and white paint. Beneath the sign is the top of three windows, the glass ismade from smaller 1 inch square pieces.

In a smaller photo just above the sign there is A man sat in a chair next to a hospital bed. He is an older black man dressed in a hospital nightgown and slippers. He has a black neck pillow behind his head and In front of him is a rolling lap table with a mug and a book. He looks towards the camera passively.

A much larger photo next to this depicts A protest outside of an old ornate building. A large Palestinian flag is being waved in the wind. People are holding up protest signs which read ‘Mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living’ and ‘Gaza, you showed us’ with some words obscured by the framing, and none of the crowds faces are clear.

The next photo is of A topless trans man in a night club. He is shirtless, his top surgery scars on show. He flexes his biceps and pouts towards the camera. He is a white man with a chiselled jaw and dark hair plastered to his head with sweat. Behind him are people dancing facing away from the camera.

To the right there is a Black and white picture of a train bridge over a road. In white writing the words ‘Black Lives Matter’ are spray painted on the bridge, one letter on each metal slat. Cars and motorcycles drive underneath.

Beside this A couple kiss in a living room. A bright lightbulb hangs low, close to the heads. One person is facing towards the camera with their eyes closed. They have short light brown hair parted in the middle, they’re wearing a patterned black vest. The other person faces away from the camera, they have long ginger hair styled into a bun and dark glasses. They wear a baggy white button up shirt with the collar turned up.

Above and to the right of that picture is A woman sitting on the corner of a sofa in a living room. She is a white woman with long brown hair in a messy bun on top of her head. With her left hand she is holding a small baby up to her chest to breast feed. Her black and white shirt is raised slightly to allow the baby access. Behind her the window is open and it is night, the blue sheer curtains blow slightly with the wind.

Behind this photo and slightly behind the photo of the couple kissing is A larger photo of a drag performer with dwarfism getting ready with a small mirror in front of them. They close their eyes and apply bright red lipstick. Their make up is highly stylised with thin black eyebrows, orange eyeshadow, and pink contour. They’re wearing a long blonde wig. On the table in front of them next to the mirror is a green plastic bag.

The final photo is a cropped image of a smaller version of the ‘La Pieta’ statue by Michaelagelo. In this picture, only Jesus’s face and upper chest are shown, and Mary is kept out of frame. To the left of the statue are 5 small vases full of artificial flowers in pink, red, yellow, green and orange.

Thank for listening to this audio description for Rene Matic.

Hi, my name is Tom and I am from Bradford 2025’s Community Trainee Audio Description Team. I am going to describe the installation by Zadie Xa.

Before we enter into Zadie Xa’s space, we are first asked to either take off our shoes, or wear shoe coverings to protect the art work. The shoe coverings are found in a small box on the floor, and there are seats on the left. There is always a friendly volunteer positioned outside the gallery to offer assistance.

Shoes off, we can now move into the exhibit where we are transported into an alternative reality.
The centre-piece dominates the space. Suspended from the ceiling, There is a chandelier made up of hundreds of small shamanic bells, each one about the size of a walnut. The bells are silver and hang on fine threads at different lengths, forming the shape of a seashell, hanging delicately in mid-air.

Directly beneath the chandelier sits an octagonal platform, about shin height. Its surface is metallic and engraved into it is a large Fibonacci spiral, echoing the natural pattern of a shell. Projected light scatters across its surface, creating a kaleidoscope of colour. Vibrant reds, deep blues, and shimmering yellows ripple across it.

The centrepiece transcends outwards into the room through a mirrored floor. The reflective surface stretches into every corner, capturing everything above it: the hanging bells, the surrounding artworks and the people moving through the space.

This creates a sense of weightlessness, as if we are floating within the artwork itself. There is no clear direction to follow. Instead, the space invites us to wander freely, in whichever direction our curiosity takes us. – for some, this might feel unusual or disorientating at first.

Around the edges of the room, there are 6 individual mixed-media artworks, all of them representing the same themes of marine life and folk practices, and they share the same vibrant explosion of colour. The pieces have a raw texture to them, with expressive brush strokes and dynamic layers. behind them, the walls themselves have become part of the installation, the room is alive with sweeping colours and underwater textures of ripples and bubbles. Nothing feels isolated, but instead as one continuous environment.

The largest piece takes up the back wall of the room. It is framed within a colourful patchwork border, made up of large uneven blocks of bold earthy colour. The mural is the height of the floor to the ceiling and spans across 4 panels, each about the size of a large door.

A swirling spiral draws us in, like a vortex, glowing with a rich golden bronze, and spiritual purple. From the spiral, organic forms resembling flowing seaweed emanate out into the dreamscape surrounding it.

Dolphins, fish and turtles glide across the scene, and on the right, a transparent whale drifts through, revealing its ribcage and spine. Amongst them, Human figures seem to dance gracefully in long flowing robes that hover around them, concealing them within the kelp. Two skeletal figures provide the musical accompaniment, one plays a flute, while the other beats a drum.

The other Pieces in the space portray the same themes and colours of the large mural. – 3 of them are made up entirely of the uneven patchwork design, each block is separated by a divider of roughly cut fabric which offers a tactile texture to the art. – two of these pieces are similar and positioned on the walls at each side of the entrance. They display a spiraling nautilus shell, the small centre of the spiral starts out with uniformed strips of armour that change colour as it goes round, and as the spiral gets bigger these strips become more chaotic until they merge into the patchwork blocks around them. There is a dominant colour profile of burnt oranges, reds and pinks, blended in with marine Blues and greens.

The other patchwork piece presents only a small image, a single central block which holds a human eye with a spiralling vortex in its Iris. The patchwork around it holds blocks of darker tones, purples, blues and browns, much like the murky depths of the ocean.

On the bottom edge of the piece sits a thin oak shelf, with a line of 12 shamanic bells dangling from its edge. Half a clam shell sits on top of the shelf holding a pearl, whilst another half dangles below.

The final 2 pieces focus on the human figures from the large mural. They are positioned on the side walls of the space opposite each other. One of them portrays three of the figures intertwined with ocean animals, they merge together with semi-transparent bodies, and colours that blend into one and other, making it difficult to tell where one starts and another ends, almost combining as one to make a whole new form.

The Other, holds a neat checkerboard grid of colourful squares, within them is a figure standing with their back to us. They pose with a strong stance, their legs spread wide and their arms down to their side, and their head facing slightly to the left. They wear a robe which is richly textured with sweeping patterns, colours changing square by square so that they become almost camouflaged into the background. The checkerboard alternates between warm and cool tones of red, blue, green, yellow and orange to create a dynamic and contrasting piece.

The space as a whole is tied together by the soundscape that can be heard as visitors travel around the room. This is played out from 4 large shells that hang from the ceiling in each corner. The shells are large enough to be held in 2 hands, and each is unique in shape, from a spiky conch shell to a slim and elegant oyster shell. As people pass the shells, they might feel drawn in by the sound, and pause for a moment to listen.

The space interacts with the visitors in other ways too, lights cast shadows of people onto the walls, and the cool mirrored floor holds delicate prints of the warm feet that move across it, fading slowly as they go.

As we exit the space, we are welcomed back to reality in the main foyer of Cartwright Hall.