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 the occasion of Khan’s first solo presentation in the UK, Pocket Diary at Niru Ratnam Gallery, Something Curated’s Keshav Anand spoke with the artist, discussing the process behind their latest body of work, the relationship between performance and object, and how materials, from crude oil and textiles to flora, make us us.

Keshav Anand: Can you tell us about your new show at Niru Ratnam Gallery—what is the thinking behind the works being presented?

Baseera Khan: Lately, I’ve felt overwhelmed by the rapid pace of time, politics, and human interaction. I feel a general fatigue around the clutch of information we absorb every day, consistently looking at blue light, green screens, and AI-driven content attempting to explain the world and fulfil my desires. It all has me feeling spaced-out and disembodied. I decided to concentrate on a slower system of making to repair myself. I’ve been contemplating how every colour I interact with possesses an inner light that affects me emotionally.

In response, I decided to focus on oil painting with minimal mediums. Some days, I’d spend hours in the studio, only to make three deliberate, intentional moves. Despite moments of frustration, the accumulation of these decelerated steps brought me a sense of grace. And I am very excited to share some of this work with you in Pocket Diary at Niru Ratnam Gallery.

KA: Among the pieces being exhibited, your Acoustic Sound Blankets originated from performances but now stand alone as sculptural works. How do you see the relationship between performance and object in your practice?

BK: My Acoustic Blanket sculptures were based on sound-dampening materials. They are suits that protect me from the sounds around us, everyone, all the time. During the inauguration of Trump during the years of 2016/17, these blankets were borrowed and used during peaceful protests; they helped shelter sounds coming from private police. These troops started throwing percussion bombs at the protesters to disorient them due to the extremely loud sounds. City police also started using extremely loud sound systems strapped to their vehicles to break up large demonstrations. I did not plan for this use, but I had a feeling, and I made these performance blankets. In the end, the work has also created an outlet for me to perform music and comedy routines under the blanket. I continue to use this body of work in performance.

I have started to develop a new system of blankets based on anxiety. I hope to share this new body of work soon. These new blankets are weighted down in estimation of one’s own body weight, and I am very excited about this work in progress. The shift of colour in these blankets as well are blues, and maroons, colour so the body, the moments of pressure on your skin, life, and breath. The performance that comes from this new kind of blanket is still in the making as well. Performance work is generous and vulnerable, and it helps me have an honest check-in with myself. It also gives me a place to make music and sound, that is separate from all the other work I do.

KA: You’ve previously stated that material creates identity rather than the other way around. Can you elaborate on this idea, particularly in relation to your use of media?

BK: I think the extraction and circulation of resources and materials are what sets nationhood and identity into their respective geographies. Every ethnicity or identity has its own inscribed material that it is known for. Examples from my own self would be crude oil, hair, gold, silk, spices, flowers and their dyes. Am I Muslim, Arab, Indian, Iranian, Somali, East African, Afghan, am I Black or Brown, or am I just a bucket of crude oil, or a box of gold bricks, am I a field of poppy flowers? You know what I mean?

KA: Your paintings referencing Kashmiri flora critique global networks of labour and capital. I’m curious to learn more about the beauty and wellness industries’ role in all this.

BK: Over the winter break in NYC, I spent a lot of alone time in the studio, many cold and solo nights working on my practice. I often listen to a podcast, a comedian, or play a TV show in the background to keep me slightly disjointed from my thoughts, just far enough away from talking myself out of any repetitive moves my body deemed necessary for the work. It is easy to listen to your brain talk you out of making work. On some level, I fell into watching a TV show called The Kardashians. This family of people who are known for many things also create luxury brands to promote health and wellness. They collect immense amounts of wealth and power from the extraction and circulation of materials such as Kashmiri flowers in their family products. In a kind of pop-cultural turn, all the research and thoughts that I previously had around native medicinal flowers from Kashmir – going extinct because of global warming, war, and commodification needed to be displayed in these emotional floral paintings. Period.

KA: What are you listening to in the studio at the moment?

BK: I have been listening to Josh Johnson, a Brooklyn-based comedian, in my studio a lot. He is funny and sarcastic, but also has a way of interpreting the world with a level of heart and grit that I see in myself. To be honest, I have recoiled from watching the news and often get my news from people like Josh Johnson, as they put out multiple streams of content a day. I also listen to copious amounts of music. Bawo is always playing, or lately I’ve been listening to Emile Mosseri to calm my nerves.

KA: Aside from home, where do you like to eat in New York?

BK: I have enjoyed my Italian spot on 64th and 1st Ave called Felice 64. The environment is perfect, and it is never crowded. Thinking about the food as I write this response is making my mouth water.

KA: And what are you currently reading?

BK: I’ve been asked to read my friend’s upcoming book, his name is Damon Young. I have really enjoyed it, taking notes and learning about his main character. It’s a satirical take on race and sex. Though I grew up awkwardly learning about race and sex in the South, I am drawn to these types of narratives, because I feel like I am still learning how to date, and be strong, be cunning, and just be. I see myself in the character sometimes, and well, at other times… I am not a man, let’s put it that way.

Baseera Khan: Pocket Diary is on view at Niru Ratnam Gallery, London from 7 March to 17 April 2025.



Feature image: Baseera Khan, The Liberator (Busts of Canons series), 2023. Courtesy of the Artist and Niru Ratnam, London. Photo: Greg Carideo