ZAHED SULTAN

The Storyteller

Zahed Sultan is a multihypenate creative, working in a wide range of audio-visual media to produce thought provoking music and more that engages with ideas of social justice, community and culture.

Tell us about what it is that you do and how your journey began. Who is Zahed Sultan?

I explore storytelling through music, digital art, film, live performance, and cultural production. I have founded a social impact organisation in Kuwait (en.v), an arts organisation in London (COMMUN), and I’m working on a data co. at the moment.

From the moment journeyed into music and public facing art, didn’t have the stamina to chase trends or participate in viral nuances. look at my journey as a slow burn process. aspire to create timeless work which at times will take its time to find its place in the world - and I’m ok with that.

I also have an unforgiving habit (good or bad) that when people say go right, go left. have done this so many times in countless ways. I think it’s because ‘right’ feels like a saturated, loud space. Whereas ‘left’ allows for the opposite, an open and curious space. Naturally, this habit brings about a sense of ‘otherness’ or oneness because you challenge the status quo. It can be uncomfortable, but thankfully I have numerous mediums to channel my discomfort into.

What audio elements are fundamental to the music you create? How would you describe your sound?

In the early stages of the pandemic, coined an overarching theme for my work - Pop Nostalgia - as a lens through which reshape an imagined or real past in a familiar, yet contemporary way.

I don’t have a particular audio element that is fundamental to the music make. It’s a culmination of ideas that I log over time through various mediums like writing notes or phrases on my phone that unexpectedly come to mind, recording voice notes of songs that hear on the radio or TV which I overlay with a vocal melody or harmonise a word with by looping it over and over. I also Shazam songs from TV series or movies that inspire a beat, a rhyme, or anything in between.

Your book, Haramacy, is a collection of stories of cross-cultural identity from a diverse range of writers. What objectives did you have?

In moving to London and exploring the many nuances the city had to offer, something struck me – how come such a diverse city had so few cross-cultural projects? Especially since ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusivity’ were / are such big buzzwords that circulate in the Arts.

Unpacking this led me to create the first Haramacy program in 2019. On completion, I met up with a writer (Dhruva Balram - who later become a co-editor for the book) and we had a chat about the lack of diversity in UK media and how there wasn’t really a space for us to tell our stories unless they could be bundled into trending narratives or sit comfortably within a particular ‘gaze’. The idea for the book was born out of this chat and the intention was simple - let’s create a collective space to tell our stories, our way.

Collaboration and community are central to the projects you produce. What inspired your commitment to platforming and collaborating with other creatives?

I think it came about because I dared to take the initiative and shape spaces / build community when the consensus was that it was hopeless at the time (in Kuwait). also have a curiosity to tell stories across multiple mediums which requires me to adopt a collective / collaborative approach to creating works in order for me to realise my ideas.

I feel like collective work is necessary. have seen how it can lead to ingenuity and acceptance. If we look at the world around us, especially today, it emphasises that overcoming cultural and social challenges can’t be achieved through division, but rather by coming together and celebrating the threads that exist between each other.

How has your Kuwaiti-Indian heritage informed your approach to art, making, and community building?

Code-switching between two cultures comes naturally to me because have been doing it my whole life. I’ve come to realise that exploring heritage and cultural similarities can create a hybrid space that feels comfortable - like home.

Your creations are immensely rich in colour, is there a story behind this?

I believe I have always been fascinated with the colours around me when was a kid. had always been attracted to saturated colours or the colours of nature, like flowers, the Sun et cetera and I always asked since a young age why all these creatures that absorb contain those colours and until now I am wondering and seeking answers, not necessarily normal answers, but psychological ones.

Describe your lightbulb moment. When did you realise you were destined to create art?

When lived abroad used to study engineering, and met people that are very close to my heart they were all creative, artists, designers, musicians, and whenever we hung out they always told me, “Nasser you a creative soul, you are an artist,” when they visited my space they saw me painting or playing my guitar and in those moments, and this unique friendship, realised that wanted to study something that represented my inner energy, so I decided to change my major and study Fine Art and that was the best decision I have ever made.

The energy behind your work is rooted in how the human psyche perceives it. Talk us through that.

I believe that every action you do, there is a place within our psychological understanding that needs to be faced. Certain colours and shapes touch our energy differently and through these two elements am trying to open this world of self healing self reflecting.

What story are you trying to narrate through sharing your creative practice with the world?

The story of equity, the story of being fully yourself without wearing a mask, the topic of psychology, spirituality and mental health. honouring our feminine and masculine energies within us.

What is your favourite medium to work with?

Pigment, like painting. I do like metal and coloured glass and cement, too.

You’re roaming in an art museum, what section are you exploring for inspiration?

Painters from the 70s - 90s except pop art are not big fans of it.

What is the significance behind your use of shapes?

Shapes are a conversation that I am still trying to understand. But do believe they contain some very healing energy and that’s why most of my paintings contain shapes. It comes from my subconscious, which I am very interested to know more, about tackling my inner self, the shadow, letting go and dealing with all the trapped energy within me.

If you were to go back in time and be mentored by one of the Old Masters, who would it be?

Etel Adnan, because she believes in the importance of beauty. Also Hilma Klint for her magical path into spirituality, Matisee, Miro, Kandinsky.

During your university years in Florida, what traditions or objects did you hold on to to stay close to home?

Home is always in my heart whenever go but one of the object that always have around is روخب

When you’re creating in your studio, what is the energy like?

Map out your creative space for us.

Very zen energy, I usually smudge my space with sage and palo santo. play my turntable and listen to music from psychedelic rock to jazz and funk. My studio is so tiny and minimalist and fun.

AREContemporary Heritage

ARE is a Damascus-based design house that takes traditional Syrian techniques and imbues them with a fresh, contemporary appeal. Their ‘digital glitch’ aesthetic blurs the high-tech world with age old design.

Let’s start with the obvious — or to some, the not so obvious. Why have you chosen to remain anonymous? We keep ourselves out of the foreground because we want the spotlight on the pieces, what they stand for, and the designers, craftsmen and artisans, whose skills and experiences go into their creation. Each ARE piece is a product of the work of a number of people, with varying perspectives that add to the story and the meaning behind each product. We believe that these multiple inputs and contributions must be credited and, together with the pieces, be the focus of people’s attention.

Talk to us about the significance of your name. Why did you choose “ARE”?

Each ARE creation is a collective of work by designers, artisans, and craftsmen. Each one of them leaves their unique mark on every ARE piece and ultimately contribute to its meaning. That’s where our name stems from, we are ARE, all together.

Your brand’s aesthetic identity is quite clear throughout all your pieces. How did you come to the digital glitch element of your work?

The digital glitch represents the moment of collision between our fast-paced high-tech world and the precision and structure of traditionally handmade craft. It showcases the imperfections of our contemporary reality and the apogee of balance that is the result of the idiosyncratic pairing of two diametrically opposite and extreme worlds.

Talk to us through your making process. How do you work around combining materials historically used in your culture with a modern approach? What challenges do you face?

Our pieces redefine the traditional through a contemporary lens. We take elements of traditional Syrian design, conceptualize and modernize them through a correlation with contemporary representations. Our pieces are playful interpretations of the traditional within this newly reimagined contemporary reality. In our furniture, we blend traditional damascene materials, such as wood and mother of pearl, with new materials such as epoxy, Plexiglas, and neon. Different craftsmen and designers are involved in the production process. They all contribute to the final appearance and unique meaning behind each piece. All these different hands and contributions lead to glitches and changes, which ensures that no two pieces are ever exactly the same.

We invest a lot of time and effort into research, creating our concept and mood boards, sketching and testing various materials, before we make the final design for each piece.

As a tribute to our heritage, traditional methods are our starting point, the foundation that forms the piece, which is then expanded with new materials and manufacturing methods. We consider the design phase completed when we can take a step back and confirm that we succeeded in challenging the norms and changing our attitudes in the creation of the piece as we reimagined it. Our main challenge lies in blending the traditional and the modern. This craft is passed from one generation to another. Inherited manufacturing techniques are difficult to combine and expand with modern methods and materials. This is the challenge that constitutes our art: creating new methods by questioning shapes and intent in order to create pieces never seen before.

What about Syria do you love the most? How do you show that through your work?

We find inspiration in Damascus, a city as old as time, with a rich and complex history and tradition molded by different civilizations. ARE was built upon the foundations laid on this melting pot of cultures, customs, and experiences. We draw from the traditional and breathe our own experiences into every piece, each time creating something unique. Having handpicked traditional damascene chairs, mirrors, and tables, we reimagined them through the perspective of modern architecture and gave them a contemporary twist, all the while honoring the traditional craft.

The concept of time seems to be a dominant theme within your work. Why is this?

Our work represents a unity of the opposites, the traditional and the modern captured in a moment in time. While drawing inspiration from age-old artisanal furniture, the twist in our pieces comes from our contemporary daily lives. We imbue our work with ideas drawn from images that we see, objects that we pass by, and thoughts that cross our minds every day. These diametric opposites, the old and the new, the past and the present, and the moment in which they collide, become ARE pieces, living art pieces that transcend time.