Kiara Mohamed Amin is a Somali, queer, trans multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Liverpool.
His practice encompasses film-making, poetry, painting and artisanal handicraft. His recent works are primarily concerned with addressing topics such as race, gender, sexuality and self-care.
In Scouse Republic, a new commission for OUTPUT (supported by the Elephant Trust), the artist takes the viewer on a journey through trauma (both medical and personal) and towards radical possibilities for healing.
The film explores the role Liverpool has played in this journey – in particular its green spaces and abundance of wildlife. The Princes Park heron (well known to visitors) appears here as a totem of self-care, a mythical reinterpretation of the Liver Bird.
Mohamed credits his reading of These Bones Will Rise Again by Panashe Chigumadzi for introducing him to the idea of ancestral spirits communicating with their descendants through the land, a major theme running through the work.
In the gallery, the film is accompanied by a new mural painted by the artist exploring natural forms and plant life, bringing the nurturing atmosphere of nature into the gallery space.