“Graduating with a PhD feels both surreal and deeply grounding,” says Dr Ismail Farouk, a lecturer in Fine Art at the Durban University of Technology (DUT).
The artistically-driven Dr Farouk, who teaches Studio Practice and Art Theory was conferred with his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Fine Art at the DUT Autumn Graduation Ceremony, held at the Olive Convention Centre.
This year, he has reached the milestone of 10 years’ service at DUT, contributing creatively to the social and cultural discourses that shape contemporary society in his academic field.
Speaking further on his sincere exuberance upon hearing the good news, Dr Farouk happily shared that this milestone marks the culmination of years of sustained inquiry, experimentation, and reflection. “For me, it is not only an academic milestone but also a personal and political one, an affirmation of the value of practice-based, decolonial modes of knowledge production. The process has reshaped how I think, make, and engage with the world, and I see my PhD less as an endpoint and more as a continuation of a longer trajectory of research and artistic practice,” he commented.
The PhD allowed him to bring together his interests in art, theory, and social practice in a way that felt meaningful and necessary. It offered Farouk a framework to deepen questions that have been present in his work for many years. Farouk, a firm believer in espousing DUT’s values and principles, says he resonates strongly with values related to innovation, critical engagement, and social responsibility. “My work is grounded in questioning dominant narratives and creating space for alternative ways of knowing, which aligns with an institutional commitment to transformative and socially conscious education,” he relayed happily.
Reflecting on his PhD dissertation, the topic explored the Politics of the Gut: Food, Art, and Colonial Modernity.
“This dissertation lays out a terrain for food-based practice in the Fine Arts, where food is both subject and method of inquiry, and where food-based art practice is central to challenging dominant narratives, subverting visual economies, and foregrounding embodied and multisensorial dimensions that remain under-theorised in the visual arts,” he emphasised.
Dr Farouk highlighted that this study brings together academic texts, cookbooks, archival materials, and art practices to explore the intersections of food, memory, identity, race, gender, and power, drawing attention to questions of food and eating that shape ways of thinking about the body and the construction of both ideal and abject social bodies.
“This engagement aligns with the principles of practice-based research, where creative practice is not separate from but integral to the production of knowledge. The visual, embodied, and performative works explored and created in this study are not only part of the archive but function as modes of analysis through which food, race, gender, and power are critically examined. This work demands that we taste, smell, touch, serve, cook, and eat as analytical and political acts,” he added. Through the convergence of theory and practice, Farouk indicated that this dissertation considers how contemporary food cultures and landscapes function as living archives shaped by the histories and afterlives of colonial modernity.
“One of my key findings is that food is mobilised as a relational, embodied, and archival method, foregrounding eating, serving, and tasting as ways to engage memory, power, and histories of race, land, and labour within a living, multisensorial framework,” he shared.
Juggling lecturing and studies was at times a difficult task for Farouk. “Navigating the demands of practice-based research within academic structures that are not always designed to accommodate experimental or non-traditional methodologies, was exhausting. Balancing teaching, research, and personal responsibilities was also significant. However, these challenges ultimately strengthened the clarity and urgency of the work,” he highlighted.
However, Dr Farouk accentuated that his PhD allowed him to bring together his interests in art, theory, and social practice in a way that felt meaningful and necessary. It offered him a framework to deepen questions that have been present in his work for many years. In terms of studying further, Dr Farouk shared that while he is open to future study, his immediate focus is on expanding the impact and reach of his current work.
“I aim to continue developing my practice as an artist and researcher, while also contributing to teaching and mentoring in higher education. I am particularly interested in creating platforms for interdisciplinary and decolonial engagement, both locally and internationally,” explained Dr Farouk.
This journey has reaffirmed for him the importance of holding space for multiple forms of knowledge-especially those that emerge from lived experience, embodiment, and creative practice. “I hope to continue contributing to these conversations through my work,” he emphasised.
His advice to a first year who wishes to embark in the same career is to stay curious and committed to one’s questions, even when they feel uncertain or difficult. “Allow your work to evolve, and don’t be afraid of taking unconventional paths. It is also important to build a supportive community and to take care of yourself throughout the process,” he said.
Pictured: Dr Ismail Farouk
Waheeda Peters
