Shahed Saleem’s Fabric Works at V&A East Confront Border Politics

Architect and artist Shahed Saleem has created 'I Was Born Here', a series of three large appliqué fabric pieces commissioned for the Torrijos Ceiling at V&A East Storehouse. The works, made from materials sourced at Queen’s Market in East London, address immigration control and state hostility. The first tapestry reproduces a 2012 'hostile environment' billboard text overlaid with geometric patterns from the Alhambra Palace. The second piece links contemporary border politics to 15th-century Spanish history through six narrative illustrations. The third depicts figures from Queen’s Market, celebrating multicultural labour. Saleem’s research into the Torrijos Ceiling revealed its origins in 1492, the fall of Granada, and the violent expulsion of Jews and Muslims. He draws parallels between that era and current nationalist trends. The textiles also connect to East London’s history of migration and textile trades, from Huguenot silk weavers to Jewish and South Asian garment workers. Saleem notes that working in fabric allowed him to scale up his drawing practice into three-dimensional objects. He hopes viewers experience both immediate visual joy and deeper historical reflection on precarity.