M HKA Ensembles

° 1975

Born in Sulaymaniyah, Kurdistan Region (IQ), lives in Berlin ().

Hiwa K (°1975) was born in Sulaymaniyah in Iraqi Kurdistan, and has been living as a political refugee in Berlin since 2002. His artistic work is completely dominated by social disruption and emotional despair, which he experienced as a refugee.

In his work, Hiwa K examines the events, encounters and many cultural/social paradoxes that have determined his life, which he analyses sharply and reflects back into the public sphere. "In the final analysis, much of my work concerns the circulation of culture, namely how cultures have influenced one another for many centuries and have been embedded in one another, both at a macro and at a micro level." He certainly does not evade the world-wide debate about globalisation and transportation. At the same time he predicts the end of humanity and a tragic end for the entire planet. In a sense, Hiwa K does not make art but engages in a debate on urgent topics.

Hiwa K makes sculpture, installations and videos, which are often an edited recording of his performance. The images are often sublime in their simplicity: a cemented staircase leads to an empty bed at a lonely height. The works are made through minute manipulations of reality, sometimes they are taken directly from reality, through this act they are transformed into a reflection on reality. His visual work serves as a medium for the distribution of emotionally charged awareness, which he also converts into words. "Art is without value, because it does not influence the world or stimulate its change."