David Trigg speaks to Mahtab Hussain, an artist who uses photography, film and sculpture to investigate the Muslim experience through themes of identity, displacement, and belonging.
Mahtab was raised in Birmingham, where he fell in love with photography at Joseph Chamberlain College before studying the subject at Nottingham Trent University and Goldsmith’s College, London.
While working in the museums sector, he became frustrated about not seeing his own community represented in art, and he returned to photography in 2010, going on to create award winning projects such as You Get Me? a series of intimate photographic portraits examining the identity of young British Asian men.
In this episode, Mahtab discusses his recent work, the British Muslim experience and his personal journey to faith. The conversation focusses on his solo exhibition What Did You Want to See? at Birmingham's Ikon Gallery.
Commissioned by Ikon and Photoworks, What Did You Want to See? addresses themes of surveillance, visibility and the act of looking in relation to the Muslim community in Birmingham and beyond.

The exhibition responds to a covert counter-terrorism operation known as Project Champion, which in 2010 placed thousands of Muslims living in Birmingham under the watchful eye of more than 200 CCTV cameras. Officials claimed that the scheme was a local policing initiative but, after the true purpose of the cameras was revealed, local outrage forced the scheme to be abandoned.
*** Please note that this episode makes reference to racist language that some listeners may find offensive ***
Artworks discussed in this episode can be viewed on Instagram @exhibitingfaith
For more information on What Did You Want to See? visit the Ikon Gallery website.

To learn more about Mahtab Hussain and his work visit his website and follow @mahtabhussain on Instagram.

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