Shezad Dawood & Alexandra Kharibian
Still from ‘Towards the Possible Film’ by Shezad Dawood.
We hosted a conversation between artist Shezad Dawood and costume designer Alexandra Kharibian who discussed their experience collaborating together on ‘Towards the Possible Film’ (2014) and three parts of Dawood's ‘Leviathan’ series (2017 - ongoing), and the integral role of costume within these works. This event was held at LUX. More information about the event can be accessed here.
Artist bios Shezad Dawood
Shezad Dawood works across disciplines film, painting, neon, sculpture and more recently virtual reality to deconstruct systems of image, language, site and narrative. Using the editing process as a method to explore both meanings and forms, his practice often involves collaboration and knowledge exchange, mapping across geographic borders and communities. Through a fascination with the esoteric, otherness and science-fiction, Dawood interweaves histories, realities and symbolism to create richly layered artworks. Dawood’s work has been acquired for international collections including TATE (London); UK Government Art Collection (UK); Government Art Collection (US); UBS; The British Museum (London); LACMA (Los Angeles); National Gallery of Canada (Ottawa); and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle). Recent and forthcoming exhibitions
include Leviathan, Bluecoat, Liverpool (forthcoming, 2019); Encroachments, Sharjah Biennial 14 – Sharjah Art Foundation, Sharjah (2019); Gwangju Biennale, Gwangju, South Korea (2018); Delirium/Equilibrium, Kiran Nadar Museum of Art, New Delhi
(2018); Leviathan: On Sunspots and Whales, Barakat Contemporary, Seoul (2018). Dawood was born in London in 1974 and lives and works in London.
Alexandra Kharibian
A Londoner of Armenian decent, Alexandra began her career with the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and went on to train at Central Saint Martins College of Art and Design and London College of Fashion. For over a decade Alexandra has worked as a Costume Designer across performance platforms in Theatre, Opera and Film. Most recently collaborating with the Armenian Artists collective Myaseen on their new Opera ‘1000 Songs’ and other projects, she is also a founding member of the design agency // Cutline Collective// working on live events and installations. Focussing on themes of migrating communities and refugees, in 2011 she devised ‘The Road to Ras al Ain’ a performance dance piece focussing on the plight of the Armenian’s who were the victims of ethnic cleansing by the Ottoman Empire in 1915. This piece was picked to be performed at the Salon Mashup Displacement + Regeneration Exhibition in 2013 and Platforma Arts + Refugee Festival 2013.