Ikon presents Agder Kunstakademi: TV Pain (2022–23), an installation by Zubair, shown as part of the cultural exchange between international prison art initiatives and Ikon’s ongoing work in UK prisons.

TV Pain was produced while Zubair was a student at Agder Kunstakademi, an independent art school based within Agder Prison, a high-security facility in Froland, Norway, housing approximately 300 male prisoners. Opened in 2020, the prison is designed using a campus-style layout set within a landscaped environment.

Produced by KORO – Public Art Norway, Agder Kunstakademi was initiated by artist Thora Dolven Balke, curator Kristine Jærn Pilgaard, and a group of artists committed to creating a forum for material experimentation, critical thinking and artistic exchange within the prison context. Between 2021 and 2023, the school supported 29 prisoner students and 20 guest artist teachers, producing a significant body of work that was presented in the exhibition Art as Punishment at Kunstnernes Hus, Oslo (2023–24).

Zubair repurposes flat-screen monitors taken from prison cells, which are frequently smashed by inmates in moments of frustration. These broken screens, gathered from within the prison, are used to backlight poems and text, objects, paintings and drawings. In transforming damaged objects into a sculptural and contemplative installation, Zubair reframes acts of violence as constructive gestures, reclaiming the screen as a site for personal expression and creating an autonomous artistic space within the conditions of incarceration.

The exhibition is curated by Nick London, writer for Inside Time and former participant in Ikon’s Art at HMP Grendon. Following its presentation at Ikon, the installation will tour to the Marie‑Louise von Motesiczky Studio (Building 8) at HMP Grendon in autumn 2026.

Agder Kunstakademi: TV Pain forms part of Healing Arts Birmingham (HABrum), a week-long festival co-led by Birmingham City Council and the Jameel Arts & Health Lab. The festival contributes to the Jameel Arts & Health Lab’s global Healing Arts campaign, delivered in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO).

Agder Kunstakademi: TV Pain is supported by HMP Sudbury, KORO – Public Art Norway, and the Marie‑Louise von Motesiczky Charitable Trust.