In 2023-24, Adham Faramawy was artist in residence at Kettle’s Yard: one of twelve artists commissioned by the Decolonising Arts Institute at the University of the Arts., London, with support from the Freelands Foundation and Arts Council England, to work in partnership with collections across the UK.
During their residency at Kettle’s Yard, Faramawy continued their practice of performance to camera and in relation to nature, exploring the dynamics of hospitality by examining the relationship between the roles of host and guest. Research for the final film drew upon materials in Kettle’s Yard’s archive that document the experiences of Jim and Helen Ede as both hosts and guests during the time they lived in Tangier, Morocco, from 1936 to 1952.
Faramawy took inspiration from the plants and cut flowers in the house and the flowers and plants depicted in artworks in the collection as a starting point for considering the politics between host and guest at a ‘house museum’ like Kettle’s Yard. The title of the work refers to the painting Cyclamen and Primula by Winifred Nicholson and the cedar wood used to make the Moroccan-style low tables around the house. The work includes footage shot at Kettle’s Yard and excerpts from a range of archive sources found at Kettle’s Yard and elsewhere.
