Diagonal
Artist
Hiwa K
(born 1975)
Date2009
MediumDigital photograph
C Print
Dimensions133 × 200 cm
ClassificationsPhotographs
Credit LineCollection & image © Hugh Lane Gallery.
Purchased, 2021.
© Hiwa K.
Object number2144
DescriptionIn Diagonal, the artist stands inside a fallen watchtower, pushing against the structure. His pose evokes those of classical sculpture, such as the The Discobolus of Myron, but he is contained with an architectural fragment rather than standing on a plinth. The precarious building offers no protection. It was a watchtower in the Amna Suraka – the Red Security Building - built in the early 1980s by Saddam Hussain in Sulaimany – a Kurdish city in Northern Iraq – as a political prison for those who opposed the authority of the Ba’ath Party. The building was taken over by rebels in 1991 and severely damaged, and it remains a symbol of the authoritarian regime in the very centre of the city. Hiwa K associates many memories with the history of the site, which was previously a meadow, then a football field, then the construction site of Amna Suraka, where he and his sisters and cousins used to play hide and seek.On View
Not on viewCollections
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