Artist : Hamad Khalaf
Genre : Various
Period : June 3 till July 3
Everyday, 9.00AM till 10.00PM
Location : Gaya Fusion of Senses
Jl. Raya Sayan, Ubud
Tel: 979252
Hamad Khalaf was born in Kuwait in 1971. His exhibition, ‘Acts of War’, at the Gaya Gallery, is his first showing in Indonesia, but his work has been on the international circuit since the mid 1990’s. It has been included in Group Exhibitions in major galleries in Athens, Brussels, Rotterdam and Atlanta. Solo Exhibitions have been held in Paris, Kuwait, Antwerp, Brussels, and Florence, while examples of his work can be found in collections in Milan, Paris, Brussels, Athens and Berlin. In 1998, UNESCO commissioned a site-specific installation from him, and he was appointed as a member of the International Jury for the Artiade 2004. A nomination for the Peace Prize of AIAP (for his work ‘Fetus Minotaurus’) came in 1998, and, in 1999, he held an exhibition within the general assembly for Tolerance and Peace of UNESCO. These are very impressive credits for a relatively young artist.
Since Hamad began as an artist, War and Greek Mythology have been his central theme. The invasion of Kuwait spurred his career, and following the Liberation, Hamad collected over 1000 military objects abandoned by the Iraqi army, and painted them like ancient Greek pottery. As his concept grew, he began juxtaposing Myth and Politics. Today, his work continues to synthesize Greek Mythology in a “contemporary way, which makes it very palpable and free of the kitsch factor we often associate with the whole Ancient Greek thing”. Hamad’s exhibition includes installation, paintings, sculpture and wearable art, and is intended as an introduction to his oeuvre.
In this exhibition, Hamad reveals how seductive the objects and symbols of war can be. The elegance of their material, their technical perfection of detail and correct proportions are all noted, but Hamad sabotages these objects by decoration with playful elements of Greek Art. Hamad’s art has affinities to ‘Ironic’ Pop-Art, with paradoxes and changes of context, and he aims to exhaust all the potentialities of perception. Like Andy Warhol, or Robert Rauschenberg, Hamad crosses the borders between the vulgar (War Objects) and high art (Greek Mythology), as he extracts familiar war objects from their usual frame of reference and exposes them to new meanings.
Hamad has developed intriguing strategies for artistic appropriation and transformation. His painted war objects, such as boots, gloves and helmets are fabulous. Two interesting signs are employed here: The remnants of war, indicating death and devastation, combined with Greek Mythology, which elevates War into an art form. Together, these signs signify a new mode of warfare. The objects suggest the apparel and accoutrements of a totalitarian army that harnesses the power of myth to justify their actions. Eerily similar to what Hitler did to the Swastika, Hamad’s objects demonstrate the power of art to subvert and corrupt solely for despotic and propagandistic purposes.
The twenty or so very large paintings, that dominate the walls of the gallery, are some of the finest examples of ‘Ironic’ Pop-Art that I have seen in a long time. Again, using Greek Mythological signs of warfare, these works speak clearly about the triteness of war. Created in bright Day-Glo colors, with small, repetitious patterns, the paintings look intentionally like wall-paper. These canvases display all the hallmarks of Pop Art: The lack of the artist’s presence, the appearance of mechanical reproduction and the banality of subject matter (wall-paper). These paintings are a triumph, and speak clearly about the idealized existence of war in our society. Today, these paintings say, war is omnipresent, but we have become desensitized to it. These works tell us that war persists around us, but we regard it as incidental decoration!
Finally, just some criticism in the classic dictum of Mies van der Rohe, that ‘Less is More’. Don’t get me wrong, Hamad’s exhibition is a knockout, but, it tends to be a bit on the ‘over-kill’ side (pun intended), and a little pruning would have resulted in a more focused and stronger show. For example: Is it necessary to show a video of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s movie ‘Medea’, simply because the costumes in it inspired Hamad’s wearable art (clothing)? Both Pasolini, and Federico Fellini, appropriated and transformed medieval and religious costumes to subvert the clothing and symbols of the ruling classes, but, in the context of this exhibition, the video is a superfluous reference that weakens the impact of Hamad’s designs. Unfortunately, Hamad’s lackluster installation, on a theme of ‘Resurrection’, is also a bit muddled and unclear.
As Hamad’s accompanying catalogue says, this exhibition will ‘blow you away’. Even with its minor flaws, I cannot recommend this show highly enough. It is outstanding, and not to be missed. Hurry. It closes July the 3rd.
