Moving beyond hate: experiments in recycling

Moving beyond hate is a project rooted in the physical and metaphorical act of recycling and transformation. Shaista Chishty has spent years studying islamophobia and how it insidiously manifests our everyday experience. While no longer prepared to expose herself to such harmful content, Chishty holds the belief that books are sacred objects to be treasured. In the transgressive act of tearing out the pages of these books with a view to re-using them with purpose, she has embarked on a personal journey of experiments in metamorphosis and decoration. Making use of the immense supply of paper to develop her visual arts practice,  experiments have ranged from linocut printing, cyanotype printing, calligraphy and origami.

‘In recycling words of hate, I am engaging in a process of speaking back, but on my own terms.’