Latest posts
Decolonising Darwin: Sāmoan-Japanese Artist Yuki Kihara on Queerness in Nature
“Growing up in Catholic schools often limited my exposure to broader historical perspectives, particularly the Indigenous Pacific worldview that is frequently overlooked. My personal journey towards decolonisation continues as I explore various archives that challenge my understanding of the world around us,” Yuki Kihara tells Something Curated’s Keshav Anand, discussing her new show, Darwin in…
How to Make Rodrigo Cervantes’ Hot and Crispy Salsa Macha
Salsa macha — “Sauce for the brave, los machos, real men…?” It doesn’t go down so well for an origin story, does it? Gratefully, there’s another one. Salsa macha, as ‘ground sauce’, from the word ‘machacar’ — to grind — usually in a molcajete. From unknown origin in the south of Mexico, specifically in the neighbouring…
Interview: Xiaoqiao on Slow Cinema, Anish Kapoor, and Her Debut EP ‘Weltschmerz’
Out on 9 April, the London-based harpist and singer-songwriter Xiaoqiao emerges with her anticipated debut, Weltschmerz, a reverie of memory and introspection. Layering celestial harp melodies and spectral harmonies, her work draws from ancient philosophy and contemporary sonics alike. The project’s lead single, Lethe, unfurls as a hypnotic lament, meditating on oblivion, accompanied by a…
Where to Find Exceptional Texas Barbecue (With a Difference)
There are thousands of barbecue places in Texas, and there are probably even more outside of Texas. The cuisine of smoked brisket, ribs, and sausage (but mainly brisket) has made fans of people all over the world, but outside of Texas the quality can be extremely variable. Many places in Europe try to hide middling…
Interviews
Interview: Humour, History, and Intimacy in the Work of Dada...
“Storytelling has always been part of my practice,” multi-disciplinary artist Dada Khanyisa shares with Something Curated’s Keshav Anand. “I was developing these characters during my time working in animation, and then I had a friend who had a BA in Fine Art who I was talking with. I was captivated, stimulated, by the things he…
Interview: In the Studio with Baseera Khan
Drawing from family archives, religions, and diverse cultural histories, New York-based artist Baseera Khan’s work engages with the emotional and political dimensions of colour and the economies of materials. Spanning oil painting, sculpture, and performance, their work probes the intersections of spirituality, labour, and commodification, all the while examining how these concepts shape identity. On…
Interview: With No Signs of Slowing Down, Kim Yun Shin Refle...
Kim Yun Shin has spent 70 years building a resonant artistic language that bridges sculpture, painting, and printmaking. Her deeply meditative practice explores the fundamental interplay between addition and division—concepts that guide her process and help frame her lifelong engagement with nature, material, and time. Following the presentation of her work at the 60th Venice…
Boutheina Ben Salem on Tunisian Cuisine: The Shape of Memory, Instinct, and Reclaiming Narratives
The first thing that Boutheina Ben Salem remembers cooking was makrouna, Tunisia’s cherished pasta dish. She wanted to surprise her mother, who was returning from a trip. As her mother stepped into the house, she recognised by the aroma that the sauce was missing bay leaf. Ben Salem was sent outside to clear her nose…
Five Books to Read This Month
Believe it or not, this marks the first year anniversary of this column. I hope you had as much fun reading it as I did writing it. But enough of that. Here are five more for you. THE LIFE, OLD AGE, AND DEATH OF A WORKING-CLASS WOMAN, Didier Eribon Allen Lane, pp. 256 Eribon is…
Where to Eat in Austin in 2025
You’re never more than five minutes from a taco in downtown Austin, and that taco is very likely to be absolutely excellent. Like any major city’s restaurant scene, what is and isn’t worth your money gets picked apart to death online but I think these restaurants are genuinely worth your time — in a city…
Silence is Deafening
Artificial intelligence is intimidating, nobody plays instruments anymore, and no one can create an art project bringing together different creative languages. Fortunately, this month there were some alternative responses to these trends: Over a thousand artists took a stand against the British government’s planned changes to copyright law, Panda Bear is back (he sure knows…
Guides
Orange Wine, Great Coffee, and Mountain Cheese: A Gourmand&#...
Many cities in Italy battle for the title of “The least Italian city,” and Trieste has always been a finisher. But to be honest, Trieste competes in a different league: Maybe it’s “the most foreign city in Italy.” Once the sole port of the Habsburg Empire (and for years the Adriatic’s busiest harbor), its strategic…
An Insider’s Guide to Bangkok’s Galleries, Marke...
Bangkok: The city summons a set of preconceptions for the first-time traveller. Chaotic, unrelenting, hedonistic. But most cities exist in the gaps between binaries. In my years spent living and wandering in Bangkok, I have grown to appreciate a metropolis that is abundant in life, creativity and industriousness. The impact of mass tourism is indelible…
The Best from Sharjah Biennial 16: An On the Ground Guide
The morning sun is bright but I’m surprised by how cool the air is. Arriving early at Al Mureijah Square, I realise I’m underclad for my first tour of Sharjah Biennial 16 (SB16). Titled to carry, the Biennial presents over 650 works by nearly 200 artists, including Alia Farid, Citra Sasmita, and Himali Singh Soin….
How to Make Cafe Cecilia Chef Max Rocha’s Chicken Fillet Roll
I’ve always loved chicken fillet rolls. When I was in my early teens, I used to always go to the car wash with my dad on Sundays – he would buy the papers and a couple of sausage rolls, and I would always get a chicken fillet roll. It always had the same fillings: plain…
Teeth as Resistance
In the current series of The White Lotus, much has been made of the meeting of two characters, Chloe — played by Charlotte Le Bon — and Chelsea, played by Aimee Lou Wood. “I love your outfit,” says Wood on their first meeting. “Thanks,” responds Le Bon. “I love your teeth.” Wood’s teeth — big,…
How Artists Have Adapted Chinese Paper-Cutting Over the Centuries
A rainbow coterie of animals, beasts, people and plants. A flock of bats, a resplendent phoenix, girls dancing and men playing music, chrysanthemum and lotus flowers – these are all familiar motifs of the Chinese Paper Cut, which in 2009, was inscribed on UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. Painstakingly crafted with…
Reading in This Moment: Five Books for March 2025
Here’s a selection which this month leans heavily on politics and non-fiction. At a time when it seems there’s little about which to feel hopeful, there remains a lot for us to consider. BLACK UTOPIANS: VISIONS OF HOPE AND RESISTANCE IN AMERICA, Aaron Robertson Chatto & Windus, pp. 400 Black Utopians is the first full-length…
From The Archive
Meet Harris Dickinson, the Compelling Lead Actor of ‘B...
British actor Harris Dickinson plays the lead role in Eliza Hittman’s critically acclaimed Beach Rats, which chronicles a young man’s struggle with his sexuality over the course of a summer, amid the stultifying machismo of outer Brooklyn. Opening in select theatres on 24 November, the film follows Frankie, portrayed by Dickinson, as he roams the…
Interview: Ernesto Neto On Gravity, Togetherness & The ...
Since the 1990s, Brazilian artist Ernesto Neto has produced an inimitable body of work that is in equal parts informed by sensuality and spirituality. Inspired by the Brazilian Conceptualists Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica, as well as biomorphism, Minimalism and Arte Povera, Neto’s works engage all of our senses while asserting the human body as…
SC Exclusive: Notes on a Siren — a Film Essay by Justice Jam...
Director Justice Jamal Jones joins myth with modern themes of Black queerness and trans identity in their latest film, Notes on a Siren. Presented by Something Curated, and exclusively premiering on the site, the film was shot on location at Palm Heights in Grand Cayman. Jones expands on the thinking behind their mesmerising work below….