Kai Isaiah-Jamal, When we can’t say ‘gender’ let’s say ‘gentrification’. The things I didn’t tell my Mother before I left, 2018

2018
Silkscreen print
65 × 65cm
Edition of 30, signed and numbered

Kai-Isaiah Jamal is a spoken word poet, performer, writer, model and trans visibility activist. For this edition, Jamal has explored access to language – specifically around how it is used to identify – and the way that queer voices are censored. The black-out poem revisits the artist’s childhood – a time when he was plucking at words and hoping they made sense. During this period, Jamal would often say that ‘London is gentrified, and I can’t deal with it, so I’m moving to Leeds’ when what he meant to say was ‘I’m trans, and gender is unsafe, so I’m seeking a comforting home in Leeds.’ The poem toys with the merging of these words to highlight the fear of explicitly speaking about queerness.  

Jamal works alongside institutions and brands to bring a voice to the misrepresented or unrepresented QTIPOC. Working with Dazed, Vice, i-D, Stella McCartney, Tate, and with his own family collective BBZ, Jamal aims to prioritise the voice and safety of queer people of colour. His work disrupts cis-het normality and aims to diversify the literature sphere with young, working-class, queer, trans magic that he wishes he could have had access to growing up. 

Important note: If your delivery address is not within the United Kingdom, you may be subject to import duties, taxes and delivery service charges, which are levied once a shipment reaches your country. You will need to pay any additional charges for customs clearance. Please note that customs policies vary widely from country to country, and we advise you to contact your local customs office for further information. Since January 2021 that includes all countries in Europe.

Or alternatively you can organise your own courier at your own risk in which case we can provide collection information.

Collection from the ICA is FOC.