With a grounding in art and anthropology, my interdisciplinary practice is shaped by my upbringing in Birmingham, a UK city celebrated for its diversity, with over 180 nationalities, and my experiences living across Europe and China. Blending photography, sculpture, and curation with conversation and participatory exchange, I explore the tools and rituals of belonging and belief that transcend political boundaries. I am the author of five books, including Under Gods (Dewi Lewis Publishing, 2010) and Sacred Shanghai (Washington University Press,2019).
My doctoral research expands on the methodology and critical inquiries emerging from The SIM Project, which I founded in 2017 and has since toured across eight countries. The evolving collection of unique wearable artefacts, crafted during intimate workshops, materialise and transform personal digital archives into tangible visual narratives of mobility. By amplifying the voices of people with lived experiences of forced migration, the project seeks to challenge hostile narratives around migration and democratise storytelling and archiving practices. Recognised for its impact, the project was selected by London Design Festival 2024 and exhibited at V&A, London.
I am the inaugural Honorary Artist at Migration Mobilities Bristol and has undertaken residencies at institutions including King’s College London (Digital Humanities), the University of Birmingham (Theology and Philosophy), the Migration Research Centre at University College London, SOAS University (South Asia Institute), and the University of Texas at Austin (Art History). Between 2013 to 2017, I was a visiting scholar at the Shanghai Academy of Social Sciences.