Press Kunstverein HannoverKunstverein Hannover Sophienstraße 2 D-30159 Hannover T: +49(0)511.16 99...

Kunstverein Hannover Sophienstraße 2 D-30159 Hannover T: +49(0)511.16 99 278 -12 F: +49(0)511.16 99 278 -278 [email protected] www.kunstverein-hannover.de

Press Release

Hanover, May 17, 2018

Opening: May 25, 2018, 8:00 pm Press Conference: May 23, 2018, 12:30 am


Press Release Hiwa K Moon Calendar May 26–July 29, 2018

Opening: Friday, May 25, 2018, 8:00 pm

Hiwa K’s installative works have gained media attention at the latest since documenta 14 in Kassel and Athens with the large concrete pipes as forms of housing from “When We Were Exhaling Images” (2017), and the videos “View from Above” (2017) at the Stadtmu-seum Kassel as well as “Pre-Image (Blind as the Mother Tongue)” (2017) in Athens. The latter will now be screened in Hannover and at the same time serves as the title of the artist’s solo exhibition at the New Museum in New York. The extensive solo exhibition of the Kurdish-Iraqi artist Hiwa K at the Kunstverein Han-nover developed in collaboration with the Belgian Municipal Museum of Contemporary Art Ghent (Stedelijk Museum voor Actuele Kunst, S.M.A.K.). In his videos and installations, the artist, born in 1975 in the northern Iraqi region of Kurdistan, reflects on collective oc-currences and subjective narratives, on temporality in constant reference to history con-centrating on the here and now, and not least on flight and migration on the basis of his personal history. In his work “Pre-Image (Blind as the Mother Tongue)”, Hiwa K, a member of the mi-grant generation of the 1990s that came on foot to Europe illegally from Kurdistan, fo-cuses on walking through foreign land and finding one’s bearings in unfamiliar surround-ings. A pole onto which bicycle, car, and motorcycle mirrors have been mounted and which he balances on the bridge of his nose and forehead serves as a navigational de-vice. The mirrors are used as an extension of the sensory organs—on the one hand in order to take a look at the foreign surroundings, and on the other as a reflection of him-self, which, however, always remains fragmentary. These “Pre-Images,” which originate as concepts before the development of the actual image, are pieces in a puzzle, so to speak, that make reference to a future without any kind of security whatsoever, because the pacing man can look neither ahead nor behind.


Press Release Observations are Hiwa K’s basic source material. He uses himself as material to vicari-ously act as a metaphorical protagonist who impressively reveals the present and the ref-erences to historical contexts it contains performatively as well as philosophically. Hence Kiwa W’s works are often reactions to situations as well as to socially and politi-cally complex contexts: when he was invited by the Serpentine Gallery in 2010 to realize a concert by his band “Chicago Boys” at Speaker’s Corner in Hyde Park in London, he pro-duced the work “It’s Spring and the Weather Is Great, So Let’s Close All Object Mat-ters” (2012). Speaker’s Corner is closely linked with idea of free speech, and since 1872 one can express one’s opinion there by generating attention by means of a ladder from an elevated position. However, this custom is not based on a matter of course, for in the 12th century Hyde Park was still the site of executions, often of critics of the regime, who shortly before their death used this last opportunity to make themselves heard. Both of the ways this site was and is used draw on the act of elevation for making public announce-ments, and Hiwa K uses this tradition by arranging seven ladder pedestals equipped with musical instruments and microphones with his musicians. Because the concert was can-celled, what was originally planned as a performative work became a site-specific installa-tion that deals with the tension between individual and shared experiences and occur-rences. Besides existing works, Hiwa K will realize two expansive installations: inspired by the work “My Father’s Colour Period” (2013), he uses the prominent windows of the Kunstverein as screens to channel sunlight into the space in different colors. And finally, the monumental work in sand, “What the Barbarians Did Not Do, Did the Barberini” (2012), spreads out monumentally. It makes formal reference to the Pantheon and in terms of content takes up its discourse on the ambivalent character of the material bronze—for the purpose of creating art and manufacturing weapons—and extends it geo-graphically. In the exhibition’s eponymous work Moon Calendar (2007), Hiwa K can be seen dancing in a hall that is part of the Iraqi prison complex Amna Souraka while monitoring his heart-beat with the use of a stethoscope and transferring it, like a transcription, to the floor into flamenco dance steps. Thus a process develops that reminds the artist of his positioning as well as timing within the context-laden surrounding space with each beat and counter-beat of his heart.


Press Release

Hiwa K “Pre-Image (Blind as the Mother Tongue)” 2017 (film still) Digital video, 16:9, color, sound, 18 min. Co-produced by Open-Vizor, Abbas Nokhesteh Courtesy of the artist and KOW Berlin

Hiwa K “Moon Calendar,” Iraq, 2007 (film still) SD video, 4:3, color, sound, 12:16 min. Courtesy of the artist, KOW Berlin, and Prome-teogallery di Ida Pisani, Milan / Lucca

Hiwa K “It’s Spring and the Weather Is Great, So Let’s Close All Object Matters,” 2012 Mixed media Installation view at the S.M.A.K., 2018 Courtesy of the artist and KOW Berlin Photo: Dirk Pauwels


Press Release Contact and Information

Press Contact Olga Isaeva T +49 511.169927812 [email protected] _______________ Opening Hours Tuesday–Saturday 12:00–7:00 pm Sundays and holidays 11:00 am–7:00 pm _______________ Library By appointment _______________ Admission €6.00 / reduced €4.00 / free for members. Guided tours and events are included in the admission and are free for members of the Kunstverein Hannover. Reduced admission for members of other Kunstvereine (ADKV).

Press Kunstverein HannoverKunstverein Hannover Sophienstraße 2 D-30159 Hannover T: +49(0)511.16 99...

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