A Thinkpiece by Charli XCX and Other Reads This Week
By Wim Langedijk for HURS
A Thinkpiece by Charli XCX and Other Reads This Week
HUR Reads is our definitive shortlist of the most prominent articles from around the web.
By HURS Team
1
British-Palestinian Artist Rosalind Nashashibi Wants to Talk About Gaza
British-Palestinian artist Rosalind Nashashibi explores Gaza through her multi-medium work, including the short film Electrical Gaza (2014), which captures the daily life and unexpected beauty of the Strip alongside its tensions. Her new exhibition, Stones, blends painting and film to merge the personal and political, using vivid color and subtle symbolism. Nashashibi’s work reflects on memory, resistance, and the way audiences now engage with Gaza’s reality in the aftermath of recent conflicts. On view until 17 May 2026 at KM21 in The Hague.
HOW TO SPEND IT
Chloé Zhao reflects on her journey from Beijing to Hollywood. From intimate American West stories to the period drama Hamnet, she channels grief and human emotion through her actors and surroundings. The interview explores how her sensitivity and unique way of seeing the world inform her storytelling, showing how personal experience and neurodivergence fuel her creativity across both indie films and blockbusters.
THE NEW YORKER
Charli XCX examines the idea of cool in a world where popularity and commercial success are often seen as threats. Using her latest album BRAT and her fascination with internet culture as a lens, she analyzes the tension between niche artistry and mass appeal, arguing that commercial success doesn’t automatically kill cool. Cool, for Charli, is an ethos that survives even when a song, an aesthetic, or a vinyl misprint goes mainstream.
A RABBIT’S FOOT
Googoosh, Iran’s most beloved pop star, has lived a life of triumph and exile. Banned from performing for over two decades, her music remained a secret soundtrack in homes across generations. Her memoir, A Sinful Voice, recounts a childhood on stage, marriages marked by betrayal, and a career cut short by revolution. Yet her voice endured, uniting Iranians with its mix of joy, heartbreak, and unwavering authenticity. Today, performing worldwide, Googoosh remains a symbol of resilience.
THE ATLANTIC
Hélène Cixous defies labels: critic, novelist, philosopher, but her influence is undeniable. In The Laugh of the Medusa, she urged women to reclaim their voices and bodies through writing. Born in 1937 in Oran, she grew up amid war and colonial upheaval, learning to “read the world” with a stage-like awareness. Nearsighted as a child, she developed a unique way of seeing that shapes her lyrical, playful, and deeply intelligent work today.