Mohammed Ali

Mohammed Ali has long been known as ‘Aerosol Arabic’ but is now known professionally by his birth name, Mohammed Ali. He was born and raised in Sparkbrook, in south-east Birmingham. He is part of the Bangladeshi community who moved to Britain in the post-war period. His work as a street artist, which has occupied him for nearly twenty years, addresses issues around immigration, the complexities around multiculturalism and supporting young people. Ali’s approach as a graffitist includes fusing Islamic calligraphy with more western styles, and he has also recently ventured into using graffiti as a platform to experiment with other media such as film, theatre and photography. When asked why he continues to live and work in Birmingham, as an internationally renowned artist, he explained that family roots have kept him there. He has also commented that he remains committed to unifying the city in the face of social divisions, through art engagement, education and community action. He predominantly works in Birmingham, but he gets commissioned to produce murals around the world.

At the core of Ali’s work is the experience of living in a country as part of the second-generation immigrant community. In particular, he tries to convey ideas about ‘duality’ and ‘hybridity’, existing ‘in-between’ different cultures. A key commission that explores this narrative is Mateer Tan, meaning ‘land is calling’, for Brick Lane, a borough in Tower Hamlets in London, which is known for its vibrant Bangladeshi community. Ali used graffiti to reconnect the area with its South Asian heritage and raise public consciousness around the various contributions of different communities to UK life and the significance of ancestral legacies. His work on migration experiences is intercultural and international. In 2022 his Power of Legacy film, about Bangladeshi immigration to the UK, was shown in Los Angeles, US as part of the event A Night of Immigrant Stories. In addition to his own work presented at that series, he collaborated with the creators behind Andrea, another film screened about immigration from Mexico to the US.

Ali has also thought about immigration in relation to his own family and upbringing, asking how national histories are mirrored in family stories. For instance, he has drawn attention to his father’s work in the Birmingham Small Arms factory as a way to comment on South Asian contributions to the British economy. Similarly, having witnessed from a young age the abuse his father received as a restaurant proprietor, Ali tries to promote social cohesion through art engagement and creates spaces in which more marginalized members of society can feel empowered in their communities. Indeed, Ali is an activist against social injustices as much as an artist, and the two roles often intertwine. His recent mural in Kings Heath, Birmingham, I Can’t Breathe, produced in response to the murder of George Floyd in 2020, provoked outrage when Birmingham City Council painted over it. Ali was undeterred from this kind of political engagement and ensured the work was reproduced at an even greater scale.

He supports immersive teaching and works with students and young people through his art by interfacing with schools and higher education institutions, such as the University of Warwick and the University of Birmingham. He founded Soul City Arts in 2008, a creative organization in Birmingham that runs exhibitions, digital installations, performances, programmes and community events. The organization brings together artists, academics, policymakers, and communities to make the arts more inclusive and accessible.