Geographical Imaginations

Host Agata Lisiak meets with artist and academic Heba Y. Amin at the Zilberman Gallery in Berlin. Professor Amin gives us a tour of her exhibition, When I See the Future, I Close My Eyes, and discusses how colonial and imperialist violence continues to shape our present. Her art demonstrates that technologies – even, or perhaps especially, those that appear to be “objective” – are inherently biased in favour of some populations and actually violent against others. Her art practice involves meticulous research and rigorous, subversive engagement with archives. She uses simulation, appropriation, restaging and humour to contest and disrupt dominant geographical imaginations. We'd love to hear how art inspires you to question geographical imaginations. Is there an art piece that made you reflect on how you imagine the world and your place in it? A performance, photograph or film that has prompted a shift in your perspective? Please take a moment to fill out this form and share your thoughts with us. Episode Credits Host: Agata Lisiak Guest: Heba Y. Amin Writer and Producer: Agata Lisiak Senior Editor: Susan Stone Sound Producer: Reece Cox Production Assistant: Adèle Martin Music: Studio R Artwork: Bose Sarmiento Special thanks to: Zilberman Gallery In partnership with: The Sociological Review Foundation Funded by: Volkswagen Foundation Find more about Spatial Delight at The Sociological Review. Episode Resources Doreen Massey’s work quoted or mentioned in this episode: The Shape of the World (The Open University, 1995) A Place in the World, edited by Doreen Massey and Pat Jess (The Open University, 1995) World City (Wiley, 2007) Heba Y. Amin’s work: Windows on the West, hand-woven Jacquard textile, 2019 Marseille’s Pyramid, sculpture and video work, 2019 Atom Elegy, miniature model and live photo reconstruction, 2022 Operation Sunken Sea, installation, performance, video, 2018 The Earth is an Imperfect Ellipsoid, photography, text, projection, 2016 The General’s Stork, mixed media, 2016 - ongoing The General’s Stork (Sternberg Press 2020) As Birds Flying كما تحلق الطيور video, 2016 Heba Y. Amin’s website Zilberman Gallery website Find more about Heba Y. Amin's work at The Sociological Review