The RTK Publication
A conversation with Nahla Tabbaa and Rabila Kidwai
Alserkal inhouse design team, Sandy Zavzavadijan and Rabila Kidwai produced an exhibition booklet that doubled up a recipe book. Archiving some of the most intimated moments during the cohort's time.
Below is a conversation with Rabila about the design process.
N. Please tell us about yourself Rabila.
R. I am a designer and visual artist. I was with the Alserkal team when I first got on board this project, I was very excited because experimental prints and publications have been my oldest love. I work the arts and culture circuit and also design for all things - indie.
N. How would you describe the rtk publication? Is it meant to read like a programme leaflet or recipe book?
R. Both actually. This was a collaborative call to have the publication feature works and process of each artist plus their recipes. The recipes as cards came together very naturally. See, these simply would function very handy around the kitchen but also as a collectible. So then the booklet featured the information about the programme and the artist bios in a very quirky way.
N. How did you manage to embody the identities of each participant and create an overarching one?
R. We thought of the foundation dinner tables as the witness and bearer to the process and conversations that had been happening between the participants in this space and so that became a visual point of departure. I juxtaposed these moments from the studio with photos of their process works, journaling it in, an artist per page. The print records time in unusual ways. Here I had materials created over months, documented on a single page, collaged in no set chronology but capturing the essence of each artist’s process. At times, spilling into other’s pages, as a reflection of collaborative coming together of projects. I did read into their practices and mimicked each artists’ identity for their dedicated page, like realizing Alkindi as a minimalist and so using a lot of negative space on his page. Theres a lot to read into the material provided by the artists. Some choose to handwrite their title on a paper cutout and others had scanned their full diary pages. And I let these little details reveal something about them. So don't be surprised if you see the scanner’s burn marks somewhere. Even thats a memory of sorts.
N. Is there still room in this day and age for print recipes? What is it about these particular ones that stood out the most?
R.Print is definitely alive and I hope to keep it that way (Smiles). We trust printed stuff more because it cannot change. It is the physicality that generates the trust. A printed recipe book/card has the potential of mark making and note writing that act as little nodes of memory. A hand scribbled note from mum, a spilling of the tea.. So the magic of a print is in its afterlife. Of course these are passed on in the family, much like the love of food is and so there is sentimental value attached to these as well.
N. What are some standout design elements that you explored that were memorable to you?
R. I had a lot of fun playing with ingredients that have residue, like onion leaves and berries and the tissue with the dye. These are an invitation to the viewer to touch and feel. Also, used the cookies a lot. These were like dark humour for me - a language I often speak in.
N. How did you manage to then translate your vision into a website?
R. I didn't want to create another potentially abandoned website. So I tried to be very dynamic with the amount of information and material we had. Nahlaa and I agreed to have the audience land first thing on the menu. To emphasize the functionality of this digital archive and also to encourage it as a useful asset. Also, there's no limit to the digital space so theres that flexibility that I was happy to work with.
N. How has your practice shifted since?
R. I have always been very experimental with print and publications. This project brought together the institutional influence, the creative curatorial conversations and a running clock in a very challenging way. And the best part was that I did not have to compromise on the vision. Which at times, designers have to. A little anecdote that I am reminded of is that the sleeve of the booklet couldn’t be printed because that would have rendered us out of budget and then I ended up creating stamps that were stamped by different people in the team, whoever had the time. With no design expectations, they stamped the title with a free hand, at times with smudged results, all the while staying true to rewilding.
About Rabila
Rabila's work consistently assumes a literal interpretation of a no man’s land.
Her practice developed out of her experiences living in a family of all women. 'Many times in our life there was no home associated with her', these kind of anecdotes inform imagined narratives that she uses in her work, rooted in ideas of home, belonging, proprietorship, space and urbanism. She draws as an act of looking, and what she looks at are bodily presences that eventually lead to many infra-ordinary moments.
Rabila Kidwai is currently working with the design team at MiZa. She has exhibited at Made in Tashkeel, Sikka Art Fair, Focal Point Art Book Fair and Lahore Bienniale 01's collateral exhibition, River in an Ocean. She is the recipient of SEAF (Shaikha Salama Bint Hamdan Emerging Artist Fellows) 2024.