The Documentary Podcast Kubra Khademi: Art of strength and survival
Mar 30, 2026
Kubra Khademi, an Afghan multidisciplinary artist known for confrontational performances and bold paintings. She discusses wearing her steel Armour in Kabul and the hostile reaction that forced her into exile. She describes creating the Origin of the Universe series, women birthing animals as a challenge to patriarchy, and the studio process of painting a living bee.
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Armour Performance That Triggered Exile
- Kubra put on a metal sculpted suit exaggerating her breasts and buttocks and walked onto a busy Kabul road as a public performance called Armour.
- Within minutes hundreds of men surrounded her, threw objects, filmed and issued death threats, forcing her to flee Afghanistan days later.
Using Desire To Challenge Taboo
- Kubra centres her work on the female body, sexuality and identity as lived realities rather than voyeuristic images.
- She deliberately avoids depicting battered bodies or burqas, instead showing sexual desire and pride to challenge cultural taboos.
Birth Imagery Reclaims Female Power
- Origin of the Universe depicts women giving birth to animals to reclaim the female body as a site of power and creation.
- Kubra explains patriarchy treats women as less than animals and the series flips that by showing women producing powerful creatures like lions, phoenixes and dragons.