Mohammed Kazem first began scratching paper in the early to mid-90s, initially carving into oil paintings to create different gradations of color in the surface of the work. These nascent scratches happened concurrently with early performative experiments. Many of which emerged from prolonged discussions with his mentor and friend, the artist Hassan Sharif, about body art, performance and John Cage’s ‘Happenings’. Kazem uses a pair of scissors to create bumps, depressions and reliefs that are scratched into cotton paper.