Hiwa K: Do you remember what you are burning?

Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai: December 15, 2020–July 24, 2021
Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin: October 7, 2021–February 13, 2022
The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto: June 25–September 5, 2022

In 1996, at age 21, the Iraqi-Kurdish artist Hiwa K fled Kurdistan on foot, embarking on a journey to Europe that lasted five months and twenty days. He lived in Germany for almost two decades and in 2020 he moved back to his birthplace of Sulaymaniyah, in Kurdistan. Do you remember what you are burning? is Hiwa K’s first solo exhibition in Ireland, bringing together works created over the past ten years.

The exhibition’s title is taken from one of the featured artworks, Do you remember what you are burning? (2011–17), for which the artist invited students to bring a book of choice to the old town square Saray Azadi (Freedom Square), Sulaymaniyah, the site of many anti-government protests. They quietly read these books with a magnifying glass, focusing the sun’s rays and erasing the books’ contents letter by letter.

Comprised of films, installations, and performances, Hiwa K’s work examines themes of migration, identity and collective ways of being. Concentrating on the conditions one can experience when on the margin of society, the artist frequently refers to the geopolitical ties between his native Kurdistan and the many locations in Europe that he has called home.

A supporting programme of talks and lectures to be announced. Please visit hughlane.ie for updates.

Hiwa K: Do you remember what you are burning? is an exhibition conceived as a three-venue collaboration with the artist Hiwa K by the Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin, and The Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery, Toronto.

Hiwa K (b. 1975) lives and works between Sulaymaniyah, Iraqi Kurdistan and Berlin, Germany. Hiwa K’s works have been included in group exhibitions including the 56th Venice Biennial (2015); documenta 14, Kassel (2017); Yinchuan Biennale, China (2018); Asian Art Biennial, Taipei, Taiwan (2019); Contemporary Art Biennial Sesc_ Videobrasil, Sao Paulo, Brazil (2019); Anren Biennale, Sichuan, China (2019); and MOMA Ps1, New York (2019). Recent solo exhibitions include: Museum Abteiberg, Germany (2021); Kunsthalle Mannheim, Germany (2019); S.M.A.K. Museum, Ghent (2018); KW Institute of Contemporary Art, Berlin (2017) and KOW Gallery, Berlin (2016). His work has been awarded the 2019 Hector Preis and, in 2016, the Arnold Bode Prize and the Shering Stiftung Award.

Admission free. All welcome.

The exhibition opens in Hugh Lane Gallery, Parnell Square, Dublin 1 on 7 October 2021 and will run until 13 February 2022.

For further information please contact:
jessica.hayden [​at​] dublincity.ie (01) 222 5571 
victoria.evans [​at​] dublincity.ie (01) 222 5563

About Hugh Lane Gallery
Hugh Lane Gallery has an exceptional history centred on the ground-breaking vision of Sir Hugh Lane who presented his collection to Dublin Corporation (now Dublin City Council) in 1908.

In the years since, under the governance of Dublin City Council, the Gallery has built on this exceptional foundation and spirit.  It plays a significant cultural role in Dublin and has grown the collection to over 2,500 artworks with a focus on modern and contemporary art and excellence in Irish art practice.  In 1998 the Gallery acquired Francis Bacon’s studio and archive – an exciting and unique resource attracting audiences, artists and historians.