Ridikkuluz's "Klab" at Salma Sarriedine Gallery Depicts Israeli Soldiers as Vicious Dogs
The Salma Sarriedine gallery is hosting Ridikkuluz's solo exhibition titled "Klab," which showcases a striking painting of George W. Bush depicted as a Sunday painter, complete with a loafer in his mouth. This piece, named "Ya Kalb (tribute to Al-Zaidi)" (2026), illustrates Bush creating a white poodle with luminous blue eyes, alluding to Muntadhar al-Zaidi's shoe-throwing protest in 2008. Additionally, Ridikkuluz represents Israeli soldiers as brutal dogs committing atrocities against Palestinians and SWANA individuals, highlighting the rise in dog attacks on Palestinians since October 7, 2023. The Arabic word "Klab" translates to "dogs." The exhibition also features "You're Next - the Fifteenth of May" (2026), which honors the Nakba, a tragedy that led to the displacement of 700,000 Palestinians from 1947 to 1949.
Key facts
- Ridikkuluz's solo show "Klab" opens at Salma Sarriedine gallery
- The exhibition includes "Ya Kalb (tribute to Al-Zaidi)" (2026), depicting George W. Bush with a loafer in his mouth
- The painting references Muntadhar al-Zaidi's 2008 shoe-throwing at a Baghdad press conference
- Ridikkuluz portrays Israeli soldiers as vicious dogs inflicting atrocities on Palestinians and SWANA individuals
- The show addresses the Israeli military's weaponization of dogs and a reported uptick in dog attacks on Palestinians
- The title "Klab" (كلاب) means "dogs" in Arabic and is used as an insult
- "You're Next - the Fifteenth of May" (2026) re-adapts Francisco de Goya's 1814 painting "The 3rd of May 1808 in Madrid"
- The work commemorates May 15, 1948 as the start of the Nakba, when an estimated 700,000 Palestinians were displaced, dispossessed, or killed between 1947 and 1949
Entities
Artists
- Ridikkuluz
- George W. Bush
- Muntadhar al-Zaidi
- Francisco de Goya
- Napoleon
Institutions
- Salma Sarriedine gallery
- Hyperallergic
- BBC
- The Guardian
- Al Jazeera
- The New York Times
- Euro-Med Monitor
- United Nations
Locations
- Baghdad
- Iraq
- Madrid
- Spain
- Israel
- Palestine