My project Lockdown invites viewers to a Yemeni-Scouse household, through a series of images that captures different aspects of my life during lockdown. Every image involves a creative process.
My initial idea was to create a piece of writing. However, on reflection I thought it would be amazing to tell stories through images by revisiting my passion for photography.
Lockdown
When lockdown was announced, I panicked thinking how am I going to work creatively, effectively and mindfully. It took me weeks to fit into a routine of my own, one that worked for me and my family. Lockdown forced me to think about my wellbeing and health. I have spent my time relearning my craft, reading, reflecting and reconnecting with my faith in the month of Ramadan.
Birthday At Home
I turned 25 and I celebrated my birthday at home. My sisters laid out my favourite snacks and drinks. I wore my birthday outfit and painted my face. We danced, facetiming my mother who is currently stuck in Yemen. A birthday I will not forget.
Cooking With Mum
Every Ramadan I crave for my mother’s home cooked Yemeni dishes. This Ramadan was different in many ways, one being my mother was not at the dinner table. We facetimed every day and she taught me how to cook.
Yemeni-Scouse
Dressed in my Arabic attire and my sister in her LFC kit, this is a typical day in our Yemeni-Scouse household. My mother always told me to never sacrifice one culture for the other, but embrace everything that is part of you and do it with love.
Pandemic
We have been tested in many ways and during this time I am only grateful to have a home that keeps us warm, food on our table and our good health. The other side of this Pandemic is a stronger and a brighter future. We will RISE together.
About Amina
Amina Atiq is a Yemeni-Scouse writer, a performance artist, facilitator and activist. She has amassed many accolades including the Liverpool John Moore’s University Citizenship Award for her active and community engagement work, awarded Best North West Volunteer by Human Appeal and Young Associate for Curious Minds and was a BBC Words First Finalist in 2019.
She has been featured on various artistic platforms such as BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio 6 Music, BBC Radio 4, BBC Bitesize, The Independent, British Muslim TV @thewarehouse, Writing on the Wall, Skinny magazine, Whispering Dialogue, CAAT, Human Appeal and many more.
Her recent work involves a newly commissioned poem for the Yemen in Conflict project which will be used as part of a multimedia exhibition at the Liverpool Arab Arts Festival. Amina is currently developing a spoken word monologue with DadaFest, which invites the audience to a 1970’s Yemeni-British household, untangling what it means to belong.
She is currently a remote writer in resident with Metal Southend, working on a new project Yemeni Women at War, while working on a new commissioned writing piece in response to the historic Sutton Manor. Her new work can be found on IWM, Writing on the Wall and LightNight.
Twitter: @AminaAtiqpoetry
RISE Together on BBC Radio Merseyside
Want to find out more about the RISE Together programme? Culture Liverpool’s Head of Arts & Participation and RISE curator, Alicia Smith, took part in the below BBC Radio Merseyside interview with Jermaine Foster. Just press play and skip to 51.50 to catch up now.
