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Gods Wearing Pots, 2018

mixed media installation

Gods Wearing Pots is a new body of work comprising drawings as well as a sculpture - a forged steel morion, or colonial style helmet, inverted like a cooking pot. This new work gives shape to Hiwa K´s inquiries into early colonial encounters between the Inca and Spanish Empires, and reflects on hybrid and hidden narratives, the circulation of cultures and traditions, and the perception—and misperception—of others.

Somewhere I heard that the Incas thought that the conquistadors were wearing pots on their heads, and that they were llamas and not human beings. Researching this account, I came accross Efraín Trelles, an art historian that confirmed that this story exists. The story comes from a book written by Guaman Poman in the 16th century telling the history of the Andean region and the encounter with the Spanish conquistadors. The drawings ‚Salute God of Thunder‘ are based on my exchanges with Trelles. The work is also about history written by one part, of history written by Europeans, and how the Incas thought that the conquistadors were gods.

Hiwa K, Gods Wearing Pots, 2018, mixed media installation consisting of forged stainless steel, 205 x 205 x 290 cm, 8 drawings, ink on paper, each 34 x 24 cm, audio, ​​​​​​​installation view New Museum, New York, 2018
Hiwa K, Gods Wearing Pots, 2018, forged stainless steel, 205 x 205 x 290 cm, ​​​​​​​installation view New Museum, New York, 2018
Hiwa K, Gods Wearing Pots, 2018, mixed media installation, 8 drawings, ink on paper, each 34 x 24 cm, ​​​​​​​installation view New Museum, New York, 2018
Hiwa K, Gods Wearing Pots, 2018, mixed media installation, 8 drawings, ink on paper, each 34 x 24 cm, ​​​​​​​installation view New Museum, New York, 2018
Hiwa K, Gods Wearing Pots, 2018, mixed media installation, 8 drawings, ink on paper, each 34 x 24 cm, ​​​​​​​installation view New Museum, New York, 2018
Hiwa K, Gods Wearing Pots, 2018, mixed media installation, 8 drawings, ink on paper, each 34 x 24 cm, ​​​​​​​installation view New Museum, New York, 2018
Hiwa K, Gods Wearing Pots, 2018, mixed media installation, 8 drawings, ink on paper, each 34 x 24 cm, ​​​​​​​installation view New Museum, New York, 2018
Hiwa K, Gods Wearing Pots, 2018, mixed media installation, 8 drawings, ink on paper, each 34 x 24 cm, ​​​​​​​installation view New Museum, New York, 2018
Hiwa K, Gods Wearing Pots, 2018, mixed media installation, 8 drawings, ink on paper, each 34 x 24 cm, ​​​​​​​installation view New Museum, New York, 2018
Hiwa K, Gods Wearing Pots, 2018, mixed media installation, 8 drawings, ink on paper, each 34 x 24 cm, ​​​​​​​installation view New Museum, New York, 2018

forged stainless steel, 205 x 205 x 290 cm
8 drawings, ink on paper, each 34 x 24 cm
audio
installation view New Museum, New York, 2018

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Hiwa K

Hiwa K was born in Kurdistan-Northern Iraq in 1975. His informal studies in his home town Sulaymaniyah were focused on European literature and philosophy, learnt from available books translated into Arabic. After moving to Europe in 2002, Hiwa K studied music as a pupil of the Flamenco master Paco Peña in Rotterdam, and subsequently settled in Germany. His works escape normative aesthetics but give a possibility of another vibration to vernacular forms, oral histories (Chicago boys, 2010), modes of encounter (Cooking with Mama, 2006) and political situations (This lemon tastes of apple, 2011). The repository of his references consists of stories told by family members and friends, found situations as well as everyday forms that are the products of pragmatics and necessity. He continthuously critiques the art education system and the professionalization of art practice, as well as the myth of the individual artist. Many of his works have a strong collective and participatory dimension, and express the concept of obtaining knowledge from everyday experience rather than doctrine. Hiwa K participated in various group shows such as Manifesta 7, Trient (2008), La Triennale, Intense Proximity, Paris (2012), the “Edgware Road Project” at the Serpentine Gallery, London (2012), the Venice Biennale (2015) and documenta14, Kassel/Athens (2017). A selection of recent solo shows include the New Museum, NYC (2018), S.M.A.K., Ghent (2018), Kunstverein Hannover (2018), Jameel Arts Center Dubai (2020), Museum Abteiberg (2021) and The Power Plant (Toronto (2022). He has recieved several prizes such as in 2016 the Arnold Bode Prize and the Schering Stiftung Art Award and the latest being the Hector Prize in 2019.



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