London based creative director Kazim Rashid presents short film installation ‘2001: PRESSURE MAKES DIAMONDS', a tri-narrative video work exploring the so called War on Terror and the destruction of global brown and Muslim identities, following the catastrophic events of 2001.
For Muslims and all non-Muslim Brown people in the West, 2001 was a major shift, a fracture, a turning point. The narrative around second and third generation migrants of South-Asian, Middle Eastern and Muslim descent literally changed forever in and within the year 2001.
It was the year the North West of England suffered three months of race riots, as white British men fought with Brits of Indian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani descent across the region. It was also the year of the most pivotal and defining political event of most of our lives, 9/11. Finally, it was also the year Prince Naseem Hamed - arguably one of the most explicit members the Muslim community, and most fantastic sportsmen to have ever lived - lost his first ever fight. Hamed transcended both colour and religion and was celebrated globally as a supreme athlete, however as his career came to a sharp end in 2001, his demise unceremoniously perfectly mirrored a wider, global endemic demise of visible brown culture in western popular culture.
Prior to 2001, the 90’s saw a Brit-Asian identity starting to form in UK pop culture and increasing representation of brown people. Whether it was through the likes of 'Goodness Gracious Me', Nitin Sawney, Talvin Singh, Timbaland and Magoo, there was a real momentum building behind Brit-Asian culture and a groundswell of activity that felt like the precipice of an iconic movement: the emergence of a brand new cultural scene born out of a clash of cultures - first and second generation immigrants colliding with a host nation and birthing something unique. Punjabi MC hit Number 1 with 'Mundian To Bach Ke', Foreign Secretary Robin Cook declared Chicken Tikka Masala as a UK national dish, and a Brit Asian underground rave culture was also growing. 2001 changed this. Brown people disappeared from creative spaces. Representation in media dwindled (other than on the news). Fear increased. Airport anxiety. Suspicion of brown skin. All of this has lead to a crisis of identity and a potent sense of displacement for many individuals around the world.
Against this backdrop, the piece focuses on the impact of the year 2001 on the Muslim and non-Muslim Brown identity, the fractures that it caused and the irreparable trauma for within these communities in the West. It boldly confronts the psychological and social impacts of what the artists consider to be a 15+ year media-led war on Muslims.
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