An interview with artist Sofia Niazi

Simal Rafique

Art ecology, waqfs and community publishing: writer Simal Rafique speaks to artist Sofia Niazi about the influences on her work and how an artist can contribute back to society. Based between London and the West Midlands, Sofia Niazi studied Illustration at Kingston University, is a co-founder of small press publication OOMK (One of My Kind), project manager at Rabbits Road Press and was co-founder and curator of DIY Cultures small press publishing fair. Rafique and Niazi conclude their discussion with a forward glance at Niazi’s next projects – a book, a stained glass commission and an exhibition in London in late 2024.

Simal Rafique: Please could you tell us briefly about your education in illustration and design?

Sofia Niazi: Like most artists, I’ve been making things since I was very little, primary school and my local library played a huge role in supporting and encouraging that. I remember that making art together was really important, whether it was in class or at friend’s houses, we spent a lot of time on different papier-mâché projects. After school I took a year out to do an art foundation course when I didn’t get into my first choice of university. The course was a back-up option, because my predicted grades were low and so I anticipated that I might not get in. I hadn’t taken art at A-level but my friend had and her teacher let me tag along to some gallery trips and along with my own work she helped me patch together some sort of portfolio. I went on to study languages at BA and then did an MA in Illustration at Kingston. 

SR: Have you found that your social background has influenced your work?

SN: I try to respond to the world through my eyes and what I notice and have to say has a lot to do with my background and my religious practice, these are places from which I make work but I don’t see them as fixed, understanding our position in society and moving through life with a religious practice involves a process of constant learning. Whereas the ideas or concerns I have come from how I see the world, the materials, processes and aesthetics I employ are influenced by all sorts of things I come into contact with, I try to let curiosity and circumstance dictate my practice.  

SR: From painting ceramic tiles to tufting rugs, your practice has involved experimentation with a broad selection of media and techniques. Do you find that you are drawn to particular media and processes depending on your current field of interest?

SN: Sort of, I have certain areas of interest that span across objects or bodies of work which are adaptable to media but sometimes my field of interest is a material or process, like working with wool. I get really interested in certain processes or objects and start noticing them everywhere. I’m trying to build a little toolbox of ways of working and increase my knowledge of materials so that I have more options for deciding how to say something. Each media and technique has so much to say in and of itself so I enjoy the challenge of negotiation. A lot of it is also to do with access to knowledge. There are many works I would have made earlier but did not have the skills, any many things I’d like to make now but am not sure how to.  

SR: Right now, I am intrigued by your usage of GIFs alongside more traditional crafts. How important is technology for you, and how did you get involved with creating these GIFs? Was it a natural extension of your background in illustration?

SN: I really enjoyed making GIFs, I wanted to learn more about animation but without making a huge commitment to it and I like that GIFs can feel quite poetic, you have to be concise. More recently I’ve been working on a longer stop-motion animation by Ed Webb Ingall, A Bedroom for Everyone, I made all the illustrations and character puppets for them which was a lot of work! It took a little while to get into the swing of it but it was a natural extension to illustration.

SR: Looking at your recent exhibition at Airspace Gallery in Hanley, Stoke-on-Trent, it seems to me that you are enchanted by the tradition of charity (Waqf) in the Islamic world. Unfortunately, Stoke-on-Trent remains a relatively deprived area within the West Midlands despite its former reputation for manufacturing and transporting fine ceramics. Is it important for you to produce art that is socially useful and uplifting to the local community in which you exhibit?

SN: I think it’s very easy for artists to be extractive and take value from a community without reciprocating. The way the ‘art ecology’ is set up is not conducive to artists being embedded in areas, galleries and institutions want artists who have done projects all over the country or even world, arts funding is regularly awarded to those with new exciting short-term projects over established programmes which may seem simple but are a lot more embedded in a community, developing an Open Access type programme might not sound very fun but giving people regular access to space and materials and a little tuition can help people to develop their own creative practice in a way that constantly chopping and changing things won’t. I do think it is important to produce art that is socially useful and uplifting to the local community and it’s something that I try to do along with others in London at Rabbits Road Press (which I co-run with Rose Nordin and Heiba Lamara) and in Birmingham at the Old Print Works (where I have a studio). My time in Stoke-on-Trent was more of a research residency, it allowed me to create some work around Waqfs which ties into some writing I’m working on.    

SR: Your series of illustrations about the experiences of Muslim women during the ‘War on Terror’ appear strikingly tranquil, expressing the silent frustration of waiting for news in the uncanny comfort of one’s home. What are the challenges of articulating these delayed emotions, and are there any damaging stereotypes of Muslim femininity at play here?

SN: I made these GIFs a long time ago now, they were supposed to be something that pointed people in the direction of the stories of women who had been severely affected by the so-called ‘war on terror’, one of whom lived in my local area. I used to go to activist meetings so I was learning a lot about these injustices; mosques and educational settings were so heavily surveilled at that time and I remember it felt very difficult to express and articulate what was happening. The GIFs were originally on a website which linked to YouTube videos of different accounts by the girls and women themselves. I was trying to capture rituals that were quite factual, they were taken from the book ‘Shadow Lives’ by Victoria Britain. At the time I was looking at David Hockney and Edward Hopper whose figurative work I was drawn to, but these are also scenes I shot in my own house, with my sister, and then illustrated. I tried to portray some aspect of real life.

SR: Can you tell me about your role in One of My Kind (OOMK) https://oomk.net/about.html and Rabbits Road Press https://www.rabbitsroadpress.com/new-page ? Were you a founder member of OOMK and how did the organisation come about?

SN: Rose Nordin, Sabba Khan and I started OOMK a long time ago, I think maybe 11 years, we had a 10 year celebration earlier this year actually so let’s say 10 years. I used to table at zine fairs with Sabba and one day we met Rose and got talking, we’re all Muslim which we bonded over and were going to make a zine about significant Muslim women throughout history but it became apparent very quickly that none of us knew about history and we couldn’t be bothered to find out so it became a zine about women, art and activism. Heiba Lamara joined for the second issue and has been with us ever since. We don’t publish the zine anymore but we founded Rabbits Road Press which a community Risograph printing press in Manor Park. We have been there for seven years and it is very nice.   

SR: Humour plays a significant role in your designs and prints, particularly as a site for political resistance. As a light-hearted anecdote on Palestinian resilience, Intifada Milk for example represents such amusement elegantly. How did this project come about?

SN: It came about in response to a little show OOMK had at IHRC gallery, in the basement of their bookshop. The title of the show was ‘Vision of the Future’ Arwa Aburawa, who is Palestinian, suggested that we collaborate on something, she wanted to write up this true story about a village in Palestine that tried to become self-sufficient by buying cows for the first time and invited me to do the illustrations for it. Looking back, I’m really glad that we didn’t wait around for anyone to commission us to make the kind of work we wanted to do. I don’t think this zine would have happened otherwise and it’s probably the most popular/shared work myself or Arwa have made.

SR: Have you found that the community publishing and related services that you provide has become a way of life and work – it appears to be facilitated by you with such commitment and passion?

SN: Community publishing is brilliant, I am very blessed to be part of a team who like to make books and distribute them. It’s very empowering to have the means of production and distribution at your disposal. We’ve been very lucky with getting resources and machines and spaces to expand our practice, we work alongside so many different people and artists all the time. I love the Open Access sessions too because they allow me to see what I could make if I wasn’t lazy and it really helps me to see lots of different ways of approaching riso or self-publishing that I wouldn’t have thought of. 

SR: What projects are you working on next, and do you have any forthcoming exhibitions where people can go and see your work?

SN: I’m working on a book about an art Waqf but it’s going quite slow, I’m hoping it will speed up soon, mainly because I don’t want to get sued. I have some projects lined up which include making prayer rugs for a gallery in London (which people/staff can pray on) and some stained-glass pieces for a museum in Birmingham. The animation I worked on by Ed Webb Ingall is going on a bit of a tour and I’ve also got some things to make for a group show in London in Autumn 2024.