Coffee HouseThe
Issue No 1: Heritage, Culture and Identity
The
Coffee House
An introduction
Inherently a social and political space, the Coffee House symbolises the celebration and ownership of indigenous identities across cultures.
This zine functions as a testament towards design informed by ourselves, challenging the status quo of an outdated canon of creative practises. By showcasing the work of students incorporating their culture, identity and heritage into their practice, “The Coffee House” behaves as a space to encourage discourse surrounding themes of decolonisation and a future of design that is more accessible, representative and inclusive.
In saying this, a huge thank you to all the students who submitted work to the zine, you are all remarkable.
The visual identity of the coffee house is heavily inspired by the vernacular design existing within London’s rich and diverse communities. Inspired by my own grandparents’ shops set up after they emigrated from Cyprus, the visuals you see pay homage to diaspora communities and their struggle for visibility within our social systems. Where design has previously been a tool to reinforce these inequalities, I believe it can
also be used to reverse them. Of course, the decolonisation of design cannot fix our harmful social structures alone, but it can definitely support their improvement. I invite you to take this zine as part of an ongoing discussion which recognises the power we have as a creative community and the changes that can be made even inside a “Coffee House” from our conversations, ideas and practises.
- Yasmin Avdji (Editor)
Manifesto
Decolonising is a word that means different things to different people. It can also take shape in all kinds of actions. As a precedent for this zine, decolonising can be seen as the action of unlearning, challenging, remembering, grieving, revitalising and celebrating - which all of the work showcased in this zine does.
I invite you to not only see these artists’ works as individual pieces but as part of a bigger ongoing movement creating space for those who have gone unheard and without visibility.
So, The “Coffee House” is yet another opportunity to strengthen and widen this community seeking change, simply aiming to create another platform to have voices, stories, histories and identities.
Heard and seen
HOI POLLOI BICOMMUNAL COFFEE HOUSE
I hope that this zine can function in a similar way, creating a safe space for all creatives as a way to bring people together. So please, if you see work that resonates with check the back of this zine for the contact details of The Coffee House and the featured artists.
Photo at Hoi Polloi, one of the most famous coffee houses in Nicosia, functioning as a meeting point for all Cypriots.
Notes from the editor:
I never thought that the parts of myself I once rejected would be what I directed my practice towards. I remember being a kid growing up in London; I didn’t want my school friends to know I went to Turkish school on the weekends and would never let my Hala send me to school with dolma in my packed lunch. I even refused to learn the language most of my family spoke until I was older.
This is a story that I think is common amongst those of minorities communities, in my case as being part of the Turkish Cypriot diaspora in London. This is what has driven me to create a zine dedicated to celebrating our different cultures and identities which we once might have felt like we couldn’t.
Now I make work exploring my experience as a London Cypriot and the conflicts in Cyprus that have meant I am a citizen of an unrecognised country, using my work as a platform to drive conversations for change. I realised the dialogues created by exploring these topics is part of a much bigger picture in terms of unlearning ideas that have been the systemic result of our post-colonial social structures, reclaiming my identity and feeling proud about it – the core behind creating a community with “the coffee house”.
Maya Fouzi The Artists:
Maya is a Lebanese artist raised in London, entering their second year at CSM.
Their current work explores what being British means as something misunderstood by race, ethnicity and nationality factors, in which Maya explores as something shaped by our cultural identity.
“I am Lebanese/Iranian and British these two things co-exist at the same time.”
“GROWING UP IN AN ESTATE, I HAVE BEEN SURROUNDED BY PEOPLE FROM A DIVERSE RANGE OF CULTURAL AND NATIONAL BACKGROUNDS, WHICH HAS INFLUENCED MY UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BRITISH.”
“To understand the meaning behind the word ‘home’, I revisited my family’s heritage in Lebanon … and in London, using old photographs as my primary source… capturing how my grandparents emulated their past lives and formed a subculture combining their heritage with the new environment.”
Maya’s work speaks to the younger generations of the MENA diaspora, using imagery that has become the product of cultural heritage integrated into London life. This “style” is both nostalgic and new, where we’ve slowly seen a bit more of this visual identity celebrated within our creative industry.
Since London is a city built on a diaspora of different cultures and people, creating visibility for these voices which for many years have gone largely unheard is incredibly important.
Anya Singh
Anya Singh is a first-year student studying Fashion Communication Promotion at CSM having already created a strong portfolio of work on their foundation year incorporating textiles, colours and typography synonymous with south Asian identities, confronting the western ideals that have shaped our creative industries.
“I HAD TO GOOGLE ‘BROWN GIRL IN PURPLE TIGHTS’. I CAN’T HELP BUT NOTICE, WHY AREN’T WE SEEING MORE SOUTH ASIAN WOMEN AS WE SCROLL
THROUGH INSTAGRAM, SCOUR CATWALKS OR FLICK THROUGH PAGES OF MAGAZINES?”
Photos and quotes from Anya’s Zine “Adaa”Anya describes their work as a “reclamation of beauty”, challenging the status quo of what we have been taught to perceive as “beautiful” as well as the limited parameters of who popular styles like “coquette” and “heroin chic” have been made for. Anya uses their work to facilitate a multidimensional, progressive and authentic representation of beauty drawing from their experience as a south Asian woman, redefining the canon of what we precive a “desirable”, “beautiful” and “good”.
“Representation matters… It matters which bodies and people get represented as beautiful and fashionable because what we see impacts what we can imagine and it hurts not being imaginable.”
Arash shaikhan
Arash is a third-year Performance Design and practice student. Their practice is centred around their Iranian identity, exploring the rich traditions of their culture. Arash uses their practise to shed light on their culture and heritage, whether that is for story-telling purposes, activism, documentary or archiving.
Still from Arash’s documentary of World Cyrus Day at Trafalgar square, 2022, honouring Cyrus in order to protect current Iranian Human rights whist singing “Baravre”, a revolutionary anthem.
Still from Arash’s Equality, Diversity & Inclusion decolonisation project consisting of two documentaries about the history of two migrant communities in London, one being Brick Lane and another Southall. An articles was written about these on the London Mayor’s blog.
“The repression and censorship of modern Iran is due to a wound that needs to be healed, and that can be healed through using performance and dance as a way to take back control of one’s own body, away from the control of a dictatorship who orders how individuals should present their body.”
Ace Rahman
“A meeting between mythologies, mysticisms and schools of thought... Using instillation, mark making, movement and spoken words to create neo-folklore set in a Bengal that transcends borders, history and reality.”
Ace Rahman is a third-year Graphic Communication Design Student who’s practise fuses Bengali culture, folklore and imagery with a wide variety of mediums, challenging the status quo of a Western-centric canon of design, marrying their culture to their design practice. In a panel talk named “Remixing
the Archives” with Anoushka Khandwala and Kelly Walters, Ace and I along with a few others discussed the need for visibility for under represented minority creatives as well as a change in what we have been taught to consider as “good” art or design, historically dictated by an elite few.
Ela Kazdal
Above: still from “Early Stages of Carrying the Boulder”
Ela Kazdal is a third-year Fine Art student from Istanbul. She reflects on her personal narratives through various film formats and video, with a focus on editing and experimenting with camera-less film making techniques.
Ela’s Backgammon Board reads the poem “Misafir” by Orhan Veli Kanik. The object plays into the nuances of Turkish culture similar to her other work. Ela explores the relationship between her culture and her practice in a style which feels human and sensitive. The still above is from her film “Early Stages of Carrying the Boulder” using VHS tapes filmed by the editor’s father.
This sentimental lens taken to the topics Ela explores creates a new perspective of life in places that have not always been given just exposure in widespread media.
“The film shows brief moments of a baby adapting to the ways of life – from managing gravity to being exposed to political turmoil in Istanbul, Turkey.”
Eva Clarkson
Eva Clarkson is a Graduate Diploma Student who uses fashion as a vehicle to address social and political issues aiming to blend class systems, bringing stereotypical ‘working class’ elements to premium markets. “This manifesto encourages a sense of belonging and identity, making women connected to their past and future selves.”
Eva comments on her “Voice” project by saying “I am interested in the social and political histories of tailoring, and I want to shine light on Savile Row, exploring misogynistic treatment towards women but also celebrating the pioneers creating change.”
Eva’s work reminds us that designers and artists are at the forefront of the industry, responsible for changing the industry. “Our work must be seen, we must talk to more likeminded students, and we must keep pushing for our voices to be heard.”
Nicole Foca
свитлячки”, which translates as ‘fireflies’ in Ukrainian is a Print inspired by Ukrainian celebration of Ivana Kupala, showing two women jumping over fire in traditional vyshyvankas. The print is surrounded by a geometric pattern signifying the beauty of Ukrainian nature.
Nicole is a second-year Graphic Communication Design student who has started exploring their culture within the boundaries of their practice, integrating Ukrainian Folklore into their approach to printmaking.
“Through this print I was able to translate that spark of beauty and wonder from my country’s celebratory rituals into a design that made my great-grandfather smile.”
Only recently we are seeing more indigenous knowledge and values become the influence of our western creative industry, with these voices previously dismissed as “exotic” or “backwards” by the western canon of design.
“I know CSM holds a rich variety of individuals with non-western design practices, but it would be great if we could hold more events to highlight this work or spread the message about it, learn about it, whether that be through exhibitions or discussion panels.”
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Tireni Adeniji
Tireni is a second year Architecture student at CSM who’s painting above portrays the traditional way of carrying a baby which fosters a close bond between mother and child and is an intimate moment that is significant in many African cultures.
“As a Nigerian artist, I made this painting to reflect the importance of cultural heritage in my artistic expression.”
Drawing upon our cultural practices to inspire our creative one is a way to dismantle the status quo of what has become “acceptable” or normalised within Western media. This has led to unsustainability and lack of community which Tireni’s work responds to, whether consciously or not, sharing with the audience a different perspective of motherhood, intimacy and traditions that we can all learn from.
Georgia Bird
Georgia is a second-year fine art student at CSM. Their practice involves creating a sense of togetherness and exposure of different cultures and identities. In their “Human Bird’s Nest” project, Georgia invites an audience to explore these intimacies using objects charged with different personalities and backgrounds.
“I hoped to explore the concept of comfort through human bird’s nests; where I asked each person to bring what brings them comfort to the studio - be it belongings, people, places etc. I believe I have created small glimpses into the different worlds and cultures of the people involved, I hope to continue with this series in the future.”
Valerie kvon
Valerie is a Second-year Graphic communication design student whose work is “centred on the concept of displacement and the liminal space that arises from being raised between two cultures.”
Valerie uses patterns of ornamentation in her Silkscreen print as a powerful historical and symbolic representation of cultural values, using this knowledge to “inform understanding of duality and facilitate a
reconciliation of feelings of non-belonging.”
(As someone who was also raised between two different worlds, like many people of diaspora, I can feel the importance of creating a space to explore this dual identity).
Through a multifaceted exploration of Korean and Russian traditional motifs, and through the fusion of these cultural elements Valerie has created a space for individuals who are grappling with questions of identity.
“THIS SPACE IS INTENDED TO AID THE PROCESS OF MAKING SENSE OF ONE’S CULTURAL AND PERSONAL IDENTITY.”
James rice
“THE ZINE TALKS ABOUT HOW POOR KIDS DON’T GET EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES EVEN THOUGH THEY’RE THE ONES WHO DESERVE IT MOST.”
James Rice is a second-year graphic communication design student whose uses their practise as a vehicle to share and discuss the issues faced by Britain’s working-class population.
The images here show James’ zine which is about how children of the working class are the people who suffer the hardest from lack of support and education at the hands of the government, despite having no responsibility for their lack of opportunities.
James’s work faces some of the hard truths of our system. However, by using design, James provokes, communicates and shares a vision of change, using football as a subject to do this in his zine. Undeniably, community lies at the heart of football along with Britain’s working-class inspiring a sense of togetherness the “Coffee House” aims to encourage, just as James’s work does too.
“THE WHOLE IDEA IS WE AS WORKING-CLASS PEOPLE ARE PORTRAYED BY MEDIA AS VIOLENT HOOLIGANS WHEN THAT IS NOT THE CASE IN THE SLIGHTEST, AND THIS AGENDA IS PAINTED TO HELP FURTHER THE CLASS DIVIDE AND KEEP THE RICH RICH AND THE POOR POOR”
The Editor:Yasmin Avdji
Yasmin Avdji is a secondyear graphic communication design student whose work creates an interaction between contemporary media and her Cypriot culture using iconography, family archives and language to introduce these traditionally separate worlds.
Yasmin aims to share the voice of other young Turkish-speaking
Cypriots who have struggled for visibility as members of a legally unrecognised country, taking an interest in challenging the status quo of design to help promote those other voices who have also gone unheard, using design as a tool to uplift and reveal rather than exclude.
GET IN CONTACT:
The Coffee House is about community and sharing these artists’ work is an effort to build that. If you resonate with any of these artists’ work or would like to get in contact with the editor – find a list below of the artists and zine editors’ contact details:
Insta: Mayaa_fouzii
Email: mayafouzi1468@gmail.com
Insta: @ripaanz
Insta: @arashpars30
Insta: ace777blog
Web: elakazdal.com
Insta: @clarksonbespoke
Insta: @itsnikafoca
Insta: @tireni.art
Insta: @georgiabird_art
Email: gbird123@live.com
Insta: @lapshiichnaya
Insta: @ricey_psd
Insta: @yas.avdji
1. Maya Fouzi.. 2. Anya Singh... 3. Arash Shaikhan... 4. Ace Rahman 5. Ela Kazdal... 6. Eva Clarkson... 7. Nicole Foca... 8. Tireni Adeniji... 9. Georgia Bird... 10.Valerie Kvon... 11. James Rice... 12. Yasmin Avdji...CONTACT: Want to be part of the Coffee House?
If you would like to feature your work in the Coffee House’s next project and become part of the community, please submit a few images of your work along with a description to thecoffeehouse@ gmail.com
If you have any ideas or want to take action in helping build the coffee house community (through any imaginable means), please don’t hesitate to also get in touch. This is an open, safe and inclusive space for all students at CSM hoping to improve our creative industry.
Published 2023
by Yasmin Avdji in association with the CSM’s Associates programme.
