Inspired by the condition of things, Zarina Bhimji is interested in creating something beautiful. Her work has become a provocative string of observations which she has carried through different periods of her life. Now, this Ugandan-born photographer prepares for an exhibition, Flagging It Up, which will span her career from a 1987 photo-text installation exploring resistance right up to her new film, Blind Spot.

Attracted to colour and depth, Bhimji used a Leica camera when she shot the film in London this summer. ‘In particular, I had been interested in equality,’ she reflects, ‘and being able to speak, and being able to give a voice, and the difficulties of being able to speak freely or being accepted . . . or knowing what you’re feeling and not being able to speak because it’s hard to speak.’

She laughs as she reflects on her passion for sound. ‘I find sound pretty amazing, from the littlest sound to the largest sound you can make. That is something I find fascinating, mind-blowing.’

Bhimji’s expertise in installations, photography, film and sound have empowered her to make memorable art. She admits that she’s not interested in telling a specific story, and instead she draws inspiration from materials. In her work ‘Lead White’ she uses embroidery to explore emotions attached to womanhood, illiteracy and self-expression. 

‘People often think that my work is autobiographical,’ she states. ‘But I think it’s not . . . I want to understand how the bit of greenery is growing in the wall and what feeling it has. What an amazing thing it is to do that; to have an idea and to be able to make it and show it to people. It is an honour in a way; I suppose it’ s my way of giving something back.’ 

Zarina Bhimji: Flagging It Up, Fruitmarket, Edinburgh, Saturday 28 October–Sunday 28 January.