Meeting ASHIK Zaman – TOUCHING my Forgotten WISHES and HOPES

by Zuzana Malina Černohousová in September, 2025

During my curatorial residency in South Sweden, one of the most enriching experiences was the time I spent with Ashik Zaman – curator, art collector, founder and editor of C-print Magazine, and artistic director of SKF/Konstnärshuset in Stockholm.

From the moment I picked him up at the train station, our exchange unfolded naturally and intensely. That first afternoon we walked together through the Wanås Sculpture Park, and the conversation continued without pause into the following day. In the morning, we browsed a design shop in search of art books before joining Hedda Wachtmeister, artist and member of the owning family, for a guided tour of the park.

Hedda in her passionate talk about Robert Wilson and Ashik in his realms

One work in particular drew our shared attention: Robert Wilson’s A House for Edwin Denby (2000). The timing of this encounter carried a remarkable weight. Only days before our visit, news had spread of Wilson’s passing:

“We are heartbroken to announce the passing of Robert M. Wilson, artist, theater and opera director, architect, set and lighting designer, visual artist, and founder of The Watermill Center. Robert Wilson died peacefully today in Water Mill, New York, at the age of 83, after a brief but acute illness. While facing his diagnosis with clear eyes and determination, he still felt compelled to keep working and creating right up until the very end. His works for the stage, on paper, sculptures and video portraits, as well as The Watermill Center, will endure as Robert Wilson’s artistic legacy. There will be memorials for Robert Wilson held in the near future in locations that were especially meaningful to him. We will announce those in time.”

Ashik shared that he had only recently discovered the writing of Edwin Denby, to whom the work was dedicated. Standing before the sculpture, with Wilson’s death so present in our minds, we felt the piece resonate with extraordinary depth. What was once a house for memory became, at that moment, a vessel of farewell, loss, and continuity.

Later, over lunch with Tove Müller, Head of Learning at Wanås, our conversations expanded into art and politics. Ashik then took time to note down reflections for his article, before we reunited in the afternoon to continue our dialogue in a local café in Hässleholm, where we spoke for a quite a bit until his train departure.

Over the course of these two days, Ashik showed great interest in my professional path, and with generosity he shared valuable contacts within the Swedish art and cultural scene. Since then, we have remained in touch, continuing our exchange online and exploring possibilities of cooperation. One of the most exciting outcomes is the opportunity for me to prepare an interview with artist and curator Carola Grahn for C-print Magazine. An artist whose work I came across during my research and to whose practice I feel deeply connected.

This encounter underlined the purpose of my residency: that research is not only about studying archives and collections, but also about building living connections. The meeting with Ashik bridged the curatorial traditions of Wanås Konst with the wider Swedish art scene, and it opened a door for me to continue weaving Photoillustrata into a broader European network.

To be honest I have to say: "I miss you, Ashik. You gave me more than I have received from the art scene around me back here in Czechia for a last decade. And I don't know why, but I feel connected again to may past passions for our common Indo-European roots, which I have been always atracted to." Thank You for meeting in Sweden!