The exhibitions that I managed to watch from start to finish were the bell project and For A Few Socks of Marbles. While the former is truly mesmerizing, the latter provides me insights into the artist’s multi-cultural childhood background and his unique ways to deal with the complications. The process to make the perfect marble ball is repetitive but very rewarding, the kids would say. When artist himself was a kid, he would make the marbles as do the other kids in his Kurdish neighborhood. What makes the difference is that he managed to convince the Kurdish kids to play the Arab way of marble game, resulting in his grand triumph. The sounds it makes when children hit the stone is repetitive and each one of them similar. However, the more people hear it, the more distinguished the difference between each sound. From the flick of the wrist, the different angle the kids hit, and the strength needed to perfect different surface, produce the most harmonic, unique soundscape.
Archives for March 2019
Hiwa K Gallery
I found our visit to the Hiwa K Gallery to be very intriguing. On this visit, most of my time was spent roaming through the gallery trying to experience all the works in order to gather information about them. Each piece had a different effect on me. The piece that induced the most profound emotional reaction for me was the video “This Lemon Tastes of Apple.” Hiwa K was in the protest himself. It is unique that the artist is in his own piece, showing that he wanted to fully experience what was going on around him. The video shows how the people of Kurdistan were attacked by teargas by their own government. The gas smelled of apples, and the lemons were used as detoxifying agents. The sheer havoc of the scene showing the civil protest being attacked by the tyrannical government produced a profound emotional reaction. It was very sad to see the people of a nation being attacked by their own government. A key part of the scene was the audio, which we listened to through headphones that allowed the viewer to be fully immersed in the video. The audio showed how eerie the environment was and how the social unrest caused intense panic.
Hiwa K Response
The Hiwa K gallery’s use of sound and visual tools particularly interested me during our visit. Perhaps most noticeable as one enters the exhibition is the dual screen display showing the melting of the shell and the molding of the bell in the corner of the room. The screens’ playing of videos that were slightly out of loop with one another, drew my attention to the screen. Moreover, the relatively large length and width of the screen and its placement in corner of the room allowed for full immersion into the videos being played. This particular exhibit was also the only one to not require the use of headphones, meaning that its sound echoed throughout the room, drawing onlookers to its location. Other visual exhibits such as the one displaying the Kurdish protests could have drawn attention away from the primary exhibit had headphones not been used. The use of headphones for the exhibits without a visual component emphasized the phonetic elements of those exhibits.
Hiwa K Exhibit Response
During our visit to the Hiwa K’s Eyes See Far, Hands Too Short to Reach, I was particularly struck by the View From Above piece. Hiwa K narrates a fictional story of an immigrant who has been denied refugee status because his town is not considered an “unsafe zone”, so therefore lies about living in an unsafe town. The narration is low and at times almost muted, making the narration into a more personal, engaging conversation with the viewer. The visuals of a destroyed Iraqi city and the calm voice give the piece an unsettling undertone, while the deep black background contributes to the feeling of heavy dread. Hiwa K’s use of visuals is frightening, and yet his voice is calming. The narrator also talks about how voice cannot reach as far as sight, and how hands cannot reach as far as voice. This disjointed relationship between sight and voice underscores the disjointed and contradictory relationship of having to prove ones endangerment in order to be safe.
Hiwa K Gallery
I enjoyed our class visit to the Hiwa K Gallery. During the visit, I spent my time roaming through the gallery, trying to experience all of the pieces. I was intrigued by the variety of work that came together to form this collection. Each digital piece was unique from the previous one I had experienced, which kept me captivated and wondering what I would be watching and hearing next as I wandered through the gallery. I started with “This Lemon Tastes of Apple” which was an overwhelming abundance of sound with a man protesting in the streets and Hiwa K playing a harmonica. I think this experience was enhanced with the headphones because I felt like I was a part of the protest and in the streets because I was completely immersed in the sounds of the situation. It started giving me a headache so I made my way to “Cooking with Mama.” This was focused on Hiwa K cooking Kurdish meals with friends in Germany, meanwhile his mom, who had not seen in four years, was on a Skype call. I wish I had taken the opportunity to experience the event in Commons earlier this year because I feel a deeper understanding for the event after experiencing this piece. As I continued through the gallery, I listened to narrations, experienced Hiwa K dancing in an abandoned prison, and heard the clinking of tools. I felt immersed with the pieces while experiencing them and enjoyed the experience with sound.
