Igshaan Adams is an artist of multiple identities. He was born amid division in apartheid-era South Africa. He identifies as a queer man and is a practicing Muslim. His intricately woven sculptures and installations, however, unite his identities within seamlessly interlocking forms. Emplying Islamic iconography, using everyday materials such as rope, twine, wire, beads, and dyeing agents, his multidimensional work has an archaeological intonation, as if brought forth from history. In his first U.K. solo exhibition, weaved pathways lead visitors through the gallery. The paths themselves represent freedom and transgression, two conflicting notions the artist has greatly struggled with. —E.C.

Igshaan Adams: Kicking Dust
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Hayward Gallery / London / Art
Hayward Gallery / London / Art
Installation view of Igshaan Adams, “Sleep, Crawl and Carry, When Dust Settles.” Courtesy of the artist and Blank Projects, Cape Town, South Africa.
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