While all of Hiwa K’s work was unique and thought-provoking, it was Pre-Image (Blind As The Mother Tongue) that really intrigued me. The movie is about Hiwa K attempting to get from Greece to Italy on his journey as a migrating refugee. Balancing a long pole with mirrors aimed in different directions on his face, he slowly walks through the countryside, through woods, through a train stop, and through a refugee camp. There is no sound but his narration of the events that happened to him as a refugee. While he walks he speaks about Narcissus. Given how much his mirrors impede his movement one could guess that the theme of the piece is how narcissism impedes people from moving through life. However, that lesson seems too trivial given the situation he is in. I can’t find a satisfying interpretation of the piece online anywhere and there were no descriptors about it in the exhibition. The best explanation I’ve found was by Ania Szremski in Art Agenda. She calls the piece an “aggravated effort for nothing”. The time and energy he spends balancing while walking so so slowly conveys the feeling of hopelessness Hiwa K experienced as a refugee. Even though every move he made felt useless and unacknowledged, he kept moving forward anyways.
