Meet the artist: Osman Yousefzada
3 January 2025
British artist Osman Yousefzada has a stunning installation on display in the St Luke's church gallery at The Box until 9 March. 'When will we be good enough?' asks questions about power, class and race and makes a surprising link between old colonial sea routes and the places where the underwater cables that transmit digital information are laid.
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Osman Yousefzada was born in Birmingham in 1977, the son of first-generation migrants from South Asia.
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His South Asian heritage is a strong influence on his craft-inspired, sculptural practice although the themes he explores are far broader: unravelling global histories and issues of power, class and race that are relevant to everyone.
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Yousefzada grew up in the diaspora communities of Birmingham and often creates work that reflects and questions the injustices that he saw first-hand during his childhood and which still continue today.
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He works with moving image, installations, text works, sculpture, garment making and performance.
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In 2024 he had major solo presentations connected to the prestigious Venice Biennale and the countdown to Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture.
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He's a research practitioner at the Royal College of Art, London and a visiting fellow at Cambridge University.
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In 2022 he published his memoir, 'The Go Between’ which gives an insight into growing up in 1980's Birmingham, in a closed Pakistani migrant community. The book received critical acclaim, with Stephen Fry reviewing it as 'One of the greatest childhood memoirs of our time' and The Guardian reviewing it as ‘magic behind closed doors’.
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Osman Yousefzada is involved in a number of events that are taking place at The Box over the next few weeks, including an in conversation event with artist John Lyons on 8 February. We'll also be hosting a Bitesize talk about his exhibition on 26 February. Full details are available from our whats on section.
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If you're based in London you can also catch Osman in conversation with Ekow Eshun at Chelsea College of Arts on 19 February. You can book your free tickets for this exclusive event here.
Osman Yousefzada - When will we be good enough? is on display at The Box until the end of Sunday 9 March. Opening hours are 10am-5pm Tuesday-Sunday. Admission is free.