Hiwa K's 'Like a Good, Good, Good Boy' at KOW

Kurdish-Iraqi artist Hiwa K presents a new video installation at KOW during Gallery Weekend 2023. The three-part work 'Like a Good, Good, Good Boy' (2023) connects three sites in his native Sulaymaniyah: his family's ruined home, his old school, and the Amna Suraka prison, where Saddam Hussein's regime tortured and killed. A 1500-meter rope physically ties these buildings together, filmed by a drone. In one video, Hiwa K recalls school routines under teachers who also worked as torturers. Another shows him and former classmates on the school rooftop, sharing experiences. The work critiques vertical Western hierarchies imposed on horizontal Kurdish culture. Also on view: 'View from Above' (2018, documenta 14) about asylum and aerial perspectives; 'Destruction in Common' (2020), a carpet showing Baghdad from above; 'Walk Over' (2014/2023) linking a soccer game to Pinochet's Chile; and 'Gods Wearing Pots' (2018, New Museum) about colonial misunderstandings. The exhibition runs during Gallery Weekend 2023 at KOW, supported by FLUENTUM.