‘Anything I Do Is an Archaeological Act’: Kurdish Artist Hiwa K Explains How Personal Experience and Global Politics Inform His Work

The Kurdish artist Hiwa K, a native Iraqi
who now lives in Germany, has firsthand experience of the plight
that faces migrants who move from place to place, never knowing
which aspect of their identity will be welcomed or shunned by the
people they encounter.

“Kurds are about being formless,” he says in an exclusive interview with
Art21 as part of the PBS series “Art in the Twenty-first
Century.” “We are just cut in four pieces like a pizza,” he says of
his ancestors, who were split into territorial Iran, Iraq, Turkey,
and Syria after World War I by occupying French and British
forces.

Much of the artist’s work is drawn from a combination of
historical facts and personal anecdotes, creating a hodgepodge
practice that he says borrows from
dance to music to the culinary arts. In his work, Hiwa K uses his
own presence and identity to interrupt the status quo, even going
so far as to making himself an active participants in situations
like the Arab Spring of 2011.

Currently, the artist is included in “Theater of Operations: The
Gulf Wars, 1991–2011,” a show on view at MoMA PS1 that explores the
toll of American conflicts in the Middle East. (In an ironic twist,
a group of Middle Eastern artists participating in the show
were not allowed to enter
the United States to attend the opening.)

Speaking to Art21, Hiwa K says “anything I do is an
archeological act.” Using his childhood memories as a starting
point, the artist often digs into geo-political history to unearth
underlying tensions. “People tend to forget,” he says with dismay.
“Sometimes you have to remind them just what happened
yesterday.”

Watch the video, which originally appeared as part of
Art21’s Art in the Twenty-First Century series, below. Hiwa K’s
work is included in “Theater of Operations: The Gulf Wars
1991-2001” at MoMA PS1 through March 1, 2020.

This is an installment of “Art on Video,” a collaboration
between artnet News and Art21 that brings you clips of newsmaking
artists. A new series of the nonprofit Art21’s flagship series Art
in the Twenty-First Century is available now on PBS. Catch all
episodes of other series like New York Close Up and Extended Play
and learn about the organization’s educational programs at Art21.org.

The post ‘Anything I Do Is an Archaeological Act’: Kurdish Artist
Hiwa K Explains How Personal Experience and Global Politics Inform
His Work appeared first on artnet News.