Exhibition 50/20 Part II|The Sultan Gallery
the gallery and farida's ubiquitous water bottles
I know I said the last time that I finally made it to the first installment of The Sultan Gallery’s 50/20 Exhibition. But this time I finally, finally made it. It’s been a week since the show opened. I like the whole idea of having two parts of a show, version one and version two. It appeals to my sense of applying different elements to a single diagram or model. Not a sequel but a segment which completes another.
*If you scroll down, you will see that there is an asterisk after Thomas Modeen’s work. I’m doing the asterisk thing kind of backwards. Please click here for better photos (and a thorough explanation) of his work.
yousef al-ibrahim, free kuwait?, 2011: a deli-sign version of the 1990s anti-invasion t-shirt
abdalla alawadi's kuwait 112, 13 fils, kaleido q8 and kaleido 7b, all 2011
kaleido q8
if i had a dome in my bedroom, and this were painted inside it, i'd go to sleep very happy, or possibly not even sleep at all
monira al qadiri, mu7awwil (transformer), 2011: monira describes this work as 'the surreal transformation of moral values in kuwait over the years'. hmmm, just realized the play on words there (electricity transformer not only transferring electrical energy but also moral values to anyone who looks at its walls). holy graffiti!
i kiss your hand, father, even though we don't share political, ethical or social values, but i kiss your hand
william andersen, kuwait 50, 2011
i love a work of art which can be re-interpreted photographically
from a distance you can't really tell that each one of the 49 octagrams has an image on it. i chose the more tongue-in-cheek ones to photograph, like this LV patterned war-zone
i saw something here that others probably wouldn't see. it made me go hmmm
i didn't realize who these women were until i recognized ma'asooma, and consequently the other three. only when i saw this particular piece did i realize how celebratory william's work is. looking at the photo at home, however, made me laugh (WITH not at!). the women seem to be pressing their hands against imaginary glass saying, 'get us out of this zoo of a parliament!'
thomas modeen, inverted dunes, 2011*
these are lazer-cut images of actual kuwaiti dunes. see the asterisk above (in the main text) to see better photos of this work
george lewis, universal interest, 2011: two cheeky women and a man in a bathing suit. i really like this photograph. shows off our arab women's cheek!
nanu al-hamad, 6alqat and bb bins, 2011: i'm not bb-savvy enough to fully 'get' and appreciate this work, and i never will be. not a luddite just a lazy-ass
kandiri! one of the photos on the blackberry screen
aseel alyaqoub & abrar almusallam, el jenjiffa, 2011
aseel and abrar's version of playing cards is dedicated to kuwait's historical figures and celebrities. i really liked these cards, especially that they come in little compartmentalized boxes like this
this is a close-up of one of the giant cards (which are encased in very retro, round-cornered frames)
the two camel-jokers in plexiglass. 'jaikar' and the slightly less super-duper 'maikar'
a still from mousaed khaled's short 2008 film, 'tired'
spooky and quite surreal
Thanks for the feature Ghadah..!
Best,
Tom
your pieces are quiet, beautiful, delicate.
thanks for the post.. appreciate it :)
ibrahim, i really like what i’m seeing. not to sound condescending, but keep on doing what you do. i say that to people who’s work i like, or who are doing things with a commitment i rarely see in our most seasoned artists.
Thanks a lot for the post Ghadah !
Highly appreciate it as well :)
I love how the artists mixed Kuwaiti heritage with modern art! Splendid and inspiring!