Both a celebration of and a requiem to Kuwait’s past, Ali Sultan & Hamad Al Saab’s Reminiscing Kuwait II reads like a story which has prematurely reached it’s happy ever after in the sixties and witnessed a steady decline ever since. I do, however, also think it’s a story of hope. Although my first impression when I walked in was one of pleasant shock, almost like a buzz, faced by two walls displaying primary-colored minimalistic paintings, it was the central piece, The Distracted Path, which held my attention. And the funny thing is, this piece wasn’t in the center at all.
It’s the only one of its kind at the gallery, save another which isn’t as cacophonic and includes the stitching only in one part. It’s such a turbulent piece that the rest of the exhibition feels like calm waters after swimming out of a terrible stretch of rapids.
The exhibition is up at the Sultan Gallery until tomorrow afternoon.
the distracted path. the show really starts off with this piece. it’s not an easy work of art to look at. ali explained that the work represents two periods in kuwait’s life: the past and the present. underneath are newspaper clippings from the 60s celebrating kuwait’s economic and cultural boom. the thread symbolizes the destruction of these dreams, broken and black. the video shows ali working on the piece by systematic construction and destruction
i love the screws here. they’re not nails, which make the whole experience even more jarring
charmaine taming ayesha al marta in the back room. this video can only be described as samry meets groovy
if we had a metro system, i can imagine these works there. we need a metro system
love, love, love this. if you don’t manage to go to the exhibition, try to at least get a copy of the catalog