From Sacred Space To Suspect Place: Mahtab Hussain Puts A Focus On British Islam
(REVIEW) With its prominent central dome and minarets, Birmingham Central Mosque is a notable example of Islamic architecture in the U.K. It is one of 160 places of Muslim worship in the city that artist Mahtab Hussain photographed over a two-year period starting in 2023. But, as his photographic installation “Mosque City: Birmingham’s Spiritual Landscape” reveals, not all of these mosques are as conspicuous.
The large grid of photographs — on display as part of Hussain’s solo exhibition, “What Did You Want To See?”, at Birmingham’s Ikon Gallery — showcases the incredible diversity of the city’s masjids: From purpose-built structures to those occupying former schools, commercial buildings, Victorian terraces and even a church.
Appearing like a typology of mosque architecture, the installation recalls the work of German photographers Bernd and Hilla Becher but, unlike the lifeless industrial structures they documented, Hussain’s buildings denote a spiritual vitality.
LISTEN: Mahtab Hussain — What Did You Want To See?
The deadpan pictures, which are deliberately composed to evoke surveillance images, are Hussain’s response to a covert counter-terrorism operation, which in 2010 was poised to place thousands of Muslims living in Birmingham under the watchful eye of more than 200 CCTV cameras. Officials claimed that the project, named Project Champion, was a local policing initiative but, after the true purpose of the cameras was revealed, local outrage forced officials to abandon it.
Nearby, a map reveals Project Champion’s distribution of surveillance cameras, speaking to the climate of suspicion and discrimination against British Muslims that was fomented in the wake of the 9/11 and 7/7 terrorist attacks.
This theme continues in the photograph “Neighbourhood Watched” (2025), an eerie, cinematically staged scene in which a British-Pakistani family stand outside their house, staring apprehensively into the night as they realize they are being watched. In a culture where Islam is conflated with terrorism, Muslim homes are no longer inviolable spaces.
Central to Hussain’s practice is an interrogation of the British Muslim experience. This is explored powerfully in the video. “Here is the Brick” (2025), a dense montage of film clips taken from television, movies, newscasts, sporting events and the internet, which together address the social hysteria that the Muslim community has been subject to over the last 30 years.
The intense, fast-paced film, created in collaboration with British author Guy Gunaratne, focuses on the racism, prejudice and violence that first and second generation Asian immigrants have had to endure.
We see scenes of rioting, terrorism, war, xenophobic media portrayals and vile racist thugs (the work’s title refers to a brick thrown through the window of an Asian shopkeeper, hitting him in the face and breaking his teeth).
Photos courtesy of Ikon Gallery
It is a hard and, at times, uncomfortable watch. Yet there is hope amidst the slew of negativity: The appearance of Muslim sports heroes such as Naseem Hamed and Mo Farah are reminders that, despite the hostile environment, finding a prominent place in British society is still possible for young Muslims (though professional achievement should never be a prerequisite for finding acceptance as a human being). The film ends with a clip of white British soccer fans chanting about the celebrated Liverpool player Mo Salah: “If he scores another few, then I’ll be Muslim, too.”
Adjacent to the film is a series of placard-like paintings that mimic the style of the iconic “I Am a Man” posters carried by Memphis sanitation workers in their 1968 strike. Titled “An Act of Civil Declaration” (2025), each one carries a different statement intended to reject the vilifying labels placed on Muslims by hostile political rhetoric and media sensationalism: “I AM NOT A JIHADIST;” “I AM NOT A RADICAL’” “I AM NOT A THREAT.” With the final, positively framed statement, “I AM MUSLIM,” Hussain defiantly asserts his right to self-definition.
In the photographic series “Birmingham Chapter” (2024–ongoing), Hussain showcases the diversity of Birmingham’s South Asian Muslim community. Each large, black-and-white portrait presents its subject against a plain white background, an homage to Richard Avedon’s portrait project, "In the American West" (1979-84), and intended to draw attention to the humanity of each sitter.
Hussain’s subjects range from family members and friends to acquaintances and people he met on the streets. Each one looks straight ahead, meeting our gaze with smiles, scowls and all the nuances in between. A young man in a white vest grasps at the chain around his neck as if posing for a fashion shoot (“Ardalan”);a labourer carries a car tyre on his shoulder (“Daddy Shaf”); and the artist’s mother defiantly stares down the camera while holding a cigarette (“Imtiaz”).
These portraits, created in collaboration with Hussain, allow each sitter to be seen on their own terms. There is no denial of autonomy or erasure of subjectivity here. These are people full of character, spirit and individuality, but also part of a community united by their faith and cultural identity.
The most striking element of the exhibition is the installation “Allahu Akbar” (2025), a space decked out with prayer rugs, copies of the Quran, and ornate wooden screens. A television in the corner of the room plays a video in which Hussain appears in a variety of outdoor and indoor locations, performing the five daily prayers of Islam: Fajr, Dhuhr, Asr, Maghrib and Isha.
Throughout the prayers, we hear the phrase “Allahu Akbar” — which in Arabic simply means “God is Great” — but has sadly become associated in the minds of many with violence and terrorism. This is a brave piece, blurring the line between art and faith. It is also an important reminder that, for Hussain and millions of other Muslims, “Allahu Akbar” is a declaration of their faith, gratitude and sense of awe before Allah.
“What Did You Want To See?” asks the title of this powerful exhibition. It’s a question that turns the British State’s gaze of suspicion back on itself and a challenge to those who hold prejudice. Hussain does not show us a community cowering in fear or running scared, but one characterized by defiance, resilience and tenacity.
In the words of the Pakistani actor Zia Mohyeddin, which are heard towards the end of “Here is the Brick,” this is a community who are staying put: “Here today, here tomorrow.”
“Mahtab Hussain: What Did You Want To See?” is on view at Ikon Gallery, Birmingham, U.K., until June 1.
David Trigg is a writer and art historian based in the U.K. He is the host of the “Exhibiting Faith” podcast. You can find him on Instagram @davidtriggwriter.