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ABOUT

Displayed Words is an experiment in thinking with language, text, and poetry through digital format and in public space. Who and what defines the space in which words are made legible and meanings are produced? How does the perception of text change from one medium to another? Displayed Words plays with the intelligibility of text and its manifold displays; it also poses questions pertaining to context within which literature and poetry can be perceived and understood. Finally, it asks how text is mediated, and in which language dominant discourse and literature are communicated in a metropolitan like Berlin. What about languages considered minoritarian, those one hears across the city in everyday encounters, such as Russian, Turkish, Arabic, Vietnamese, or Spanish …?

For its third edition, Displayed Words takes place at Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Haus Potsdamer Straße, where texts by Apsilon, May Ayim, Tim Etchells, Logan February, Friederike Mayröcker and Cristina Rivera Garza are presented on a digital display panel on the balcony above the main entrance. The project, continuing its aim to facilitate poetic encounters in urban space, will be accompanied by a series of readings on site and a publication. After the last two editions at Klosterruine and Rathaus Tiergarten, Displayed Words arrives at its final location at Stabi West with a new selection of texts, responding to our current time and addressing questions of identity, origin, belongingness, and the histories and memories of a place.


Displayed Words 3

10 Sep 2024 – 26 Jan 2025
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Haus Potsdamer Straße, Potsdamer Straße 33, 10785 Berlin
Apsilon, May Ayim, Tim Etchells, Logan February, Friederike Mayröcker, Cristina Rivera Garza
Curated by Fabian Schöneich, Nan Xi and Franz Hempel, CCA Berlin and Mathias Zeiske, DAAD.

Opening + Reading on 10 Sep 2024, 6-9 PM
Rike Scheffler reads Friederike Mayröcker
Savannah Sipho reads May Ayim

Reading + Music on 6 Oct 2024, 3-4:30 PM
Logan February + Otis Mensah

 

Displayed Words 2
15 Dec 2023  –  30 Apr 2024
Bezirksamt Mitte / Rathaus Tiergarten, Mathilde-Jacob-Platz 1, 10551 Berlin
Ingeborg Bachmann, Angélica Freitas, Hassan Khan, Otis Mensah, Rafael Moreno, Nazanin Noori, Nhã Thuyên, Kinga Tóth
Curated by Fabian Schöneich, Nan Xi and Lou Ferrand (Jeunes Commissaires Fellowship 2023), CCA Berlin and Mathias Zeiske, DAAD

 

Displayed Words – Displaced
15 Dec 2022  -  16 Apr 2023
Klosterruine, Klosterstr. 73a, 10179 Berlin
Don Mee Choi, Athena Farrokhzad, Volha Hapeyeva, Quinn Latimer, Rike Scheffler, Yasmine Seale, Hajra Waheed
Curated by Fabian Schöneich

 

Supported by Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt, project funds from Draussenstadt (Displayed Words 1+2 )and the DAAD Artists-in-Berlin Program. Animations and design by Ronnie Fueglister and Yves Graber, code by Lorenz Peter. Thank you to the Head of Department, District Office Mitte of Berlin, Office for Further Education and Culture: Dr. Ute Müller-Tischler

 

ÜBER

Displayed Words ist ein Experiment im Umgang mit Sprache, Text und Poesie in digitalen Formaten und im öffentlichen Raum. Wer und was definiert den Raum, in dem Wörter abgebildet und Bedeutungen erzeugt werden? Wie verändert sich die Wahrnehmung von Text von einem Medium zum anderen? Displayed Words spielt mit der Verständlichkeit von Text und seinen vielfältigen Darstellungen; es stellt Fragen nach dem Kontext, in dem Literatur und Poesie wahrgenommen und verstanden werden können. Schließlich fragt es, wie Text vermittelt wird und in welcher Sprache der dominante Diskurs und die Literatur in einer Metropole wie Berlin kommuniziert werden. Wie verhält es sich mit Sprachen, die als minoritär gelten und die man in der Stadt in alltäglichen Begegnungen hört, wie z. B. Russisch, Türkisch, Arabisch, Vietnamesisch, oder Spanisch…?

Die dritte und letzte Ausgabe von Displayed Words findet in der Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Haus Potsdamer Straße statt, wo Texte von Apsilon, May Ayim, Tim Etchells, Logan February, Friederike Mayröcker und Cristina Rivera Garza auf einer digitalen Anzeigetafel auf dem Balkon über dem Haupteingang präsentiert werden. Das Projekt, das Begegnungen mit Poesie im urbanen Raum fördert, wird von öffentlichen Lesungen vor Ort und einer Publikation begleitet. Nach den vergangenen Ausgaben in der Klosterruine und im Rathaus Tiergarten präsentiert Displayed Words nun in der Stabi West zum letzten Mal eine neue Auswahl an Texten: Diese reagieren auf unsere aktuelle Zeit und greifen Fragen zu Identität, Herkunft, Zugehörigkeit sowie den Geschichten und Erinnerungen eines Ortes auf.

 

Displayed Words 3
10 Sep 2024 – 26 Jan 2025
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, Haus Potsdamer Straße, Potsdamer Straße 33, 10785 Berlin
Apsilon, May Ayim, Tim Etchells, Logan February, Friederike Mayröcker, Cristina Rivera Garza
Kuratiert von Fabian Schöneich, Nan Xi und Franz Hempel, CCA Berlin und Mathias Zeiske, DAAD.

Eröffnung + Lesung am 10. Sep. 2024, 18-21 Uhr
Rike Scheffler liest Friederike Mayröcker
Savannah Sipho liest May Ayim

Lesung + Musik am 6. Okt. 2024, 15-16.30 Uhr
Logan February + Otis Mensah

 

Displayed Words 2
15 Dez 2023  –  30 Apr 2024
Bezirksamt Mitte / Rathaus Tiergarten, Mathilde-Jacob-Platz 1, 10551 Berlin
​Ingeborg Bachmann, Angélica Freitas, Hassan Khan, Otis Mensah, Rafael Moreno, Nazanin Noori, Nhã Thuyên, Kinga Tóth
Kuratiert von Fabian Schöneich, Nan Xi und Lou Ferrand (Jeunes Commissaires Fellowship 2023), CCA Berlin und Mathias Zeiske, DAAD

 

Displayed Words – Displaced
15 Dez 2022  -  16 Apr 2023
Klosterruine, Klosterstr. 73a, 10179 Berlin
Don Mee Choi, Athena Farrokhzad, Volha Hapeyeva, Quinn Latimer, Rike Scheffler, Yasmine Seale, Hajra Wahee
Kuratiert von Fabian Schöneich

 

Gefördert durch die Senatsverwaltung für Kultur und Gesellschaftlichen Zusammenhalt aus Projektmitteln von Draussenstadt (Displayed Words 1+2) und unterstützt vom Berliner Künstlerprogramm des DAAD. Animationen und Design by Ronnie Fueglister und Yves Graber, programmiert von Lorenz Peter. Vielen Dank an die Fachbereichsleiterin, Bezirksamt Mitte von Berlin, Amt für Weiterbildung und Kultur: Dr. Ute Müller-Tischler

 

by Hassan Khan

Introduction

Last October I stumbled on the New York Times article Kanye and Adidas: Money, Misconduct and the Price of Appeasement, a thorough investigation of the almost decade-long business relationship between American Rapper Kanye West and German sportswear company Adidas that began in 2013 and ended in 2022. Peppered with quotes from West, Adidas executives, and employees, as well as financial statements, the article charted the rise of the increasingly profitable Yeezy line of sneakers designed by Mr. West as well as his behavior and how Adidas turned a blind eye towards what can only be described as misconduct for the sake of soaring profits and the growth of the brand’s US market share. As I read the shocking account of the extent of Mr. West’s provocations – misogynist, anti-Semitic, and highly toxic, I was taken aback by the structural hypocrisy it revealed at the heart of the 16th largest German corporation. According to the findings of the article, the world’s second largest sportswear corporation was willing to accept (and by extension implicitly condone) openly anti-Semitic statements, the use of Nazi symbols, sexist behavior, and more, even in the face of growing concern expressed by their employees. Adidas broke with Mr. West only when he publicly stated that he can make anti-Semitic comments and Adidas would not be able to drop him.

When I read this article, I was in Germany – which has been in the throes of a fit of cancellations, award withdrawals, firings and other censorious action towards almost any discourse that does not toe the general consensus of politicians, bureaucrats, a large swathe of intellectuals and mainstream media. The extremely performative nature of these acts – the way they undermined the liberal credentials of German cultural institutions; the way they eroded the very concepts of a democratic egalitarian state; the way according to many legal experts they even violated the constitution itself, struck me as highly significant.

Let’s put these two elements side by side – a hysterical and aggressive silencing of the public sphere, next to an acceptance by a wealthy powerful German corporation of blatantly anti-Semitic behavior from a high-profile personality – and some real and urgent questions will arise.

This piece is solely composed of samples (phrases, sentences, quotes) from the New York Times article as well as a short description of Kanye West and Adidas, quoted from their respective Wikipedia entries. I have felt it necessary to not actually write anything myself, but to only depend on publicly available and reliable content to tell this story. I have structured these textual units into a form that follows the structure of an epic poem – a journey of ascent and collapse. Certain statements that are essential for clarity and context repeat like a chorus. Phrases punctuate the narrative, and the financial facts and figures underlying and motivating this business relationship are regularly stated.

Here is a short guide to how the piece works.

Totem & Taboo

The title of this piece is Totem & Taboo and although it shares this title with Sigmund Freud’s collections of essays on incest taboos and totemic cultures amongst what he terms in the subtitle of his book ‘savages’, it has a slightly different focus. Admittedly this is a brilliant pairing of terms, I’ve found it to be suggestive and generative and have used it before in previous texts. According to Freud it directly connects the foundational ancestor of a group (the Totem) with the prohibition (the Taboo) that protect them – two deep impulses that latently help organize the social order. Although in Freud’s case it does that by insisting on these terms as separate, a duality, sometimes even hinting at a causal relationship between them (in which the Totem would be the cause of the Taboo). Though thinking of prohibition and sacrality as a dichotomy gives us one way of thinking about the very foundation of the law, and helps explain the structural feature of how we organize ourselves into communities, both established and valid ideas – I would like to also propose here something different. Let us for a moment consider Totem and Taboo not as cause and effect but rather as two sides of the very same thing; a unity that covers and hides a gaping vacant hole at the heart of our collective constructions.

The Wikipedia definition of both entities – the German corporation and one of the most successful musicians in the world – acts like a chorus regularly appearing throughout the text to always keep the context of the action in view.

ADIDAS AG IS A GERMAN ATHLETIC APPAREL AND FOOTWEAR CORPORATION
HEADQUARTERED IN HERZOGENAURACH, BAVARIA, GERMANY
IT IS THE LARGEST SPORTSWEAR MANUFACTURER IN EUROPE,
AND THE SECOND LARGEST IN THE WORLD AFTER NIKE
KANYE WEST IS AN AMERICAN RAPPER, RECORD PRODUCER,
SINGER, SONGWRITER, AND FASHION DESIGNER
ONE OF THE WORLD‘S BEST-SELLING MUSIC ARTISTS
160 MILLION RECORDS SOLD, HE HAS WON 24 GRAMMIES

Also continuously punctuating the piece is this important reminder that the material is based on the investigative journalism of the New York Times.

THE NEW YORK TIMES SAYS

The narrative begins by pointing to the vast capital that the corporation and the star had generated together.

AFTER PRODUCING HUNDREDS OF SHOE STYLES
AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS TOGETHER

The relationship was broken only after Kanye made public anti-Semitic comments.

ADIDAS BROKE WITH KANYE WEST AS HE MADE
ANTISEMITIC PUBLIC COMMENTS

I used this image of Adidas actively ‘holding on’ as a recurrent refrain throughout the piece. It reflects how active they were in keeping this relationship going.

ADIDAS HELD ON FOR YEARS

There are also frequent quotes throughout – quotes that reflect Kanye’s megalomania, as well as various Adidas executives excusing or justifying the relationship.

“I WAS TAUGHT I COULD DO EVERYTHING. AND I’M
KANYE WEST AT AGE 36
SO JUST WATCH THE NEXT 10 YEARS.”
WEST, RADIO INTERVIEW SEPTEMBER 2013

Kanye in his very first work session at Adidas’ corporate headquarters sets the tone for the relationship. Just miles from Nuremberg Kanye draws a swastika on the sketches he’s being shown. He is, from the beginning, testing the limits and finding out what he can get away with.

IT WAS 2013, AND THE RAPPER AND THE SPORTSWEAR
BRAND HAD JUST AGREED TO BECOME PARTNERS
THE ADIDAS TEAM WAS HUDDLED WITH KANYE WEST,
PITCHING IDEAS FOR THE FIRST SHOE
BUT NOTHING THEY SHOWED THAT DAY
AT THE COMPANY’S GERMAN HEADQUARTERS
NOTHING THEY SHOWED THAT DAY
CAPTURED THE VISION MR. WEST HAD SHARED
THEY WERE MEETING JUST MILES FROM NUREMBERG,
AT THE COMPANY’S GERMAN HEADQUARTERS
TO CONVEY HOW OFFENSIVE HE CONSIDERED THE DESIGNS,
HE GRABBED A SKETCH OF A SHOE
THEN HE DREW A SWASTIKA

Almost a decade later and nine days after this statement Adidas finally dropped Kanye. This quote is repeated throughout the piece.

“I CAN SAY ANTISEMITIC THINGS AND ADIDAS CAN’T DROP ME.”
WEST, PODCAST INTERVIEW OCTOBER 2022

Another regularly repeating mantra – and maybe the crux of the issue – tolerance (not the best word in this context) driven by incredible profit.

WHEN THE COMPANY ENDED THE RELATIONSHIP LAST OCTOBER
IT WAS THE CULMINATION OF A DECADE
OF TOLERANCE BEHIND THE SCENES
ADIDAS HELD ON FOR YEARS

It’s important to keep the audience aware of the context throughout – huge profits and growth and a real tangible change in Adidas’ fortunes in the US were all achieved through the partnership struck between the corporation and the Rapper.

SALES OF THE SHOES WOULD SURPASS $1 BILLION A YEAR
MR. WEST WOULD BECOME A BILLIONAIRE
SALES OF THE SHOES WOULD SURPASS $1 BILLION A YEAR,
LIFTING ADIDAS’S BOTTOM LINE AND RECAPTURING ITS COOL
THE ADIDAS-YEEZY DEAL BECAME
THE SECOND-MOST-LUCRATIVE SNEAKER PARTNERSHIP EVER
YEEZY SALES WERE ON TRACK TO REACH $1.8 BILLION IN 2022
MR. WEST, WHO NOW GOES BY YE,
WOULD BECOME A BILLIONAIRE

When the partnership ends the dip in both their fortunes is immediate.

AFTER THE RELATIONSHIP RUPTURED
AND YEEZY SALES CAME TO A HALT
BOTH ADIDAS AND THE MUSICIAN WERE HIT HARD
THE COMPANY PROJECTED ITS FIRST ANNUAL LOSS IN DECADES
ADIDAS’S LEADERS, EAGER FOR THE PROFITS,
TIME AND AGAIN ABIDED HIS MISCONDUCT

Here, the name Adidas is rather oddly not capitalized. According to my research this was intentional and according to some media analysts a way of spotlighting Kanye. We can also read it as a foreshadowing of how much the corporation was willing to contort itself to accommodate what almost became a magical profit producing emblem for them – a totem.

“WE WELCOME TO THE ADIDAS FAMILY ONE OF
THE MOST INFLUENTIAL CULTURAL ICONS
OF THIS GENERATION, KANYE WEST.”
ADIDAS NOVEMBER 2013

An example of Kanye’s behavior – important to note that the staff complains.

IN FEBRUARY 2015, AT NEW YORK FASHION WEEK,
STAFF MEMBERS COMPLAINED THAT HE HAD UPSET THEM
WITH ANGRY, SEXUALLY CRUDE COMMENTS
IN FEBRUARY 2015
STAFF MEMBERS COMPLAINED
HE HAD UPSET THEM
WITH ANGRY, SEXUALLY CRUDE COMMENTS

This refers to Mr. Wexler (identified later on when we return to this story with more detail) who, according to the article, probably did most to make the Kanye-Adidas deal work.

HE LATER ADVISED A JEWISH ADIDAS MANAGER
TO KISS A PICTURE OF HITLER EVERY DAY

However, the Adidas PR Machine continues to romanticize Kanye’s volatile nature. This is probably at least partially because they understand that social media is driven by outrage.

“HE CHALLENGES EVERYTHING BUT HE PUTS FULL ENERGY
INTO HOW HE CHALLENGES IT, AND YOU SEE THE RESULTS,”
NIC GALWAY, A TOP ADIDAS DESIGNER, SAID IN A 2015 INTERVIEW

Kanye here expresses the subtext – is this a wink – a way of saying I can have my cake and eat it too?

“THEY ALLOWED ME TO BE ME, THEY ALLOWED ME TO EXPRESS MYSELF.”
KANYE WEST AT SHOE AWARDS DECEMBER 2015

The interesting thing about the new contract is that it came at a point where Adidas executives must have become quite aware of Kanye’s tempestuous (to say the least) nature, reflected in their insistence to include a morals clause.

EAGER TO BUILD ON THEIR SUCCESS, ADIDAS
AND MR. WEST WERE HAMMERING OUT
A NEW CONTRACT IN 2016
DURING NEGOTIATIONS ON THE MORALS CLAUSE, AN ADIDAS LAWYER,
ALONG WITH MR. WEXLER AND THE
BRAND’S GENERAL MANAGER FOR YEEZY
REFUSED TO BACK DOWN
REFUSED TO BACK DOWN
ON THE MORALS CLAUSE
ADIDAS REFUSED TO BACK DOWN
MR. WEST EVENTUALLY CONCEDED ON ADIDAS’S TERMS:
ANYTHING THAT BRINGS “DISREPUTE, CONTEMPT, SCANDAL”
TO HIM OR TARNISHES ADIDAS
ANYTHING

They however never used the morals clause they fought so hard for.

AFTER PUSHING FOR THE MORALS CLAUSE IN MR. WEST’S CONTRACT,
IT IS NOT CLEAR WHETHER ADIDAS EVEN CONSIDERED INVOKING IT

Around 1400% growth.

NET SALES OF YEEZYS WOULD GROW FROM $65 MILLION
IN 2016 TO $1 BILLION BY 2021

They still do not use the morals clause.

HE CONTINUED TO TELL FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES,
INCLUDING SEVERAL ADIDAS EMPLOYEES,
THAT JEWS HAD SPECIAL POWERS ALLOWING THEM
TO AMASS MONEY AND INFLUENCE

That was one of Adidas’ prime motivations – to regain the US market share they had lost to NIKE – their main competitors..

THE BRAND WAS GAINING GROUND IN THE UNITED STATES

And as the brand gains ground with unprecedented growth and soaring profits, the partnership is cemented.

THE PARTNERSHIP WAS NOW A MARRIAGE, AS MR. WEST PUT IT,
HE SIGNED THE NEW CONTRACT IN MAY 2016
THE PARTNERSHIP WAS NOW A MARRIAGE

The story of Mr. Wexler is repeated in more detail- this reflects the structure of the article.

MR. WEXLER WHO IS JEWISH
TOLD COLLEAGUES ABOUT SOMETHING SIMILAR
THE ARTIST TOLD HIM TO HANG A PHOTO OF HITLER
IN HIS KITCHEN AND KISS IT EVERY DAY
TO PRACTICE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

Provocative behavior was also an asset – Kanye’s marketing strategies attuned to social media and virtual dissemination regularly employed shock tactics. Adidas had learned that this worked and is reflected in growing sales.

MEETING WITH ADIDAS’S LEADERS IN NOVEMBER 2019
TO DISCUSS HIS DEMANDS
HE HURLED SHOES AROUND THE ROOM SUGGESTING THAT HE SHOULD
BECOME ADIDAS’S CHIEF EXECUTIVE
EVEN AS MR. WEST VOICED INCREASINGLY TOXIC BELIEFS,
PRIVATELY AND PUBLICLY, ADIDAS STEPPED UP PRODUCTION
SOME OF MR. WEST’S ADIDAS HANDLERS KNEW THAT YEAR
THAT HE WAS CONSIDERING NAMING HIS NEXT ALBUM “HITLER”
THE COMPANY DID NOT WAVER IN ITS SUPPORT OF MR. WEST
NOT AS HE EXPRESSED A TROUBLING FIXATION ON JEWS AND HITLER
THE BRAND WAS GAINING GROUND IN THE UNITED STATES
MR. WEST ALSO TOLD SOME ADIDAS COLLEAGUES
THAT HE ADMIRED HITLER’S COMMAND OF PROPAGANDA

And therefore the bottom line.

“KANYE HAS HELPED US HAVE A GREAT COMEBACK IN THE U.S.”
ADIDAS C.E.O., CNBC INTERVIEW MAY 2018

This shocking statement is not tolerated in the German context and might even cross legal bounds.

HE SAID IT WAS IMPORTANT TO LOVE EVERYONE,
INCLUDING NAZIS
TO LOVE EVERYONE
INCLUDING NAZIS

Again, important to note that the employees were the ones (including many who admired Kanye’s artistry) who called the situation out.

MR. WEST’S PUBLIC AND PRIVATE COMMENTS ABOUT SLAVERY,
JEWS AND HITLER UNSETTLED SOME ADIDAS EMPLOYEES

The fact that Adidas dropped Kanye when he made comments in public is also regularly repeated throughout the piece. It is an absolutely crucial piece of information, as it reveals a cynicism – the issue is not really the content but rather the public perception of it.

NINE DAYS AFTER MR. WEST DECLARED THAT ADIDAS WOULDN’T
END HIS DEAL THE COMPANY DID JUST THAT

Adidas,’post breakup, continue to defend the partnership.

“IT’S VERY SAD THAT THIS IS FALLING APART.”
ADIDAS C.E.O., EARNINGS CALL MARCH 2023

BUT MR. RORSTED, ADIDAS’S CHIEF EXECUTIVE, BATTED THE COMMENT AWAY
“WE’RE NOT SIGNING UP TO HIS STATEMENTS
WE’RE SIGNING UP TO WHAT HE BRINGS TO THE BRAND
AND THE PRODUCTS HE’S BRINGING OUT.”

ADIDAS’S CHIEF EXECUTIVE, BJÖRN GULDEN, PRAISED MR. WEST’S CREATIVITY
AND LAMENTED HOW THE PARTNERSHIP ENDED
“VERY UNFORTUNATE,” MR. GULDEN SAID,
“BECAUSE I DON’T THINK HE MEANT WHAT HE SAID.”

Exponential and continuous growth.

THE BRAND WAS GAINING GROUND IN THE UNITED STATES
YEEZY SALES WERE ON TRACK TO REACH $1.8 BILLION IN 2022

This story does not just reflect the common greed and hypocrisy we expect from big corporations, but expresses a deeper and more structural emptiness, a form of cynical nihilism. What is so tragic is maybe not the cynicism in itself, but rather what it says about the performance of belief.

Hassan Khan is an artist, musician, and writer. He is the winner of the 57th Venice Biennale Silver Lion (2017), and Professor of Fine Arts at Städelschule in Frankfurt since 2018. His diverse artistic practice includes music, performance, film, sculpture, image, installation, and text, it deals with shared conditions to produce formats that explore fundamental questions, seduce, alienate, engage as well as attempt to re-articulate collective experiences with power structures Recent solo exhibitions include: Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2022); Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid (2019). Khan also regularly performs concerts of his original music at festivals and venues around the world. His publications include An Anthology of Published and Unpublished Writings (2019), Twelve Clues (2016), The Agreement (2011), and his latest album SUPERSTRUCTURE EP (2019) was released by the Vinyl Factory. Khan was a member of the advisory board of the HKW in Berlin between 2013 and 2018 and was the President of the Jury of the 50th Venice Biennale in 2011.

Hassan Khan ist ein Künstler, Musiker und Schriftsteller. Er ist der Gewinner des Silbernen Löwen der 57. Biennale von Venedig (2017) und seit 2018 Professor für Bildende Kunst an der Städelschule in Frankfurt. Seine vielfältige künstlerische Praxis umfasst Musik, Performance, Film, Skulptur, Bild, Installation und Text. Dabei beschäftigt er sich mit den jeweiligen Bedingungen, um Formate zu schaffen, die grundlegende Fragen erforschen, verführen, verfremden, engagieren und versuchen, kollektive Erfahrungen mit Machtstrukturen neu zu artikulieren. Zu den jüngsten Einzelausstellungen gehören: Musée National d’Art Moderne, Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris (2022); Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia, Madrid (2019). Khan spielt auch regelmäßig Konzerte mit seiner eigenen Musik auf Festivals und an anderen Orten auf der ganzen Welt. Zu seinen Publikationen gehören An Anthology of Published and Unpublished Writings (2019), Twelve Clues (2016), The Agreement (2011) und sein jüngstes Album SUPERSTRUCTURE EP (2019) ist bei Vinyl Factory erschienen. Khan war von 2013 bis 2018 Mitglied des Beirats des HKW in Berlin und 2011 Präsident der Jury der 50. Biennale von Venedig.