In Sophie Tappeiner in Vienna, the artist emphasized the expression of Kurdish culture at the intersection of myth and reality.
London artist Jala Wahid’s latest solo exhibition “Newroz” at Sophie Tappeiner was named after the March Spring Equinox celebration to celebrate the Kurdish New Year. Through dancing and bonfires, the Kurds not only ushered in spring, but also imagined freedom from oppressive rule. In order to reduce Newroz celebrations, the Turkish government banned the Kurdish spelling of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year celebration. However, the fiery ceremony of Nuroz, reflecting the 21 rays of the Kurdish flag, still symbolizes a strong sense of belonging to the Kurds-an indispensable symbol in Wahid’s artistic practice.
Jala Wahid, “Newroz”, 2019, exhibition view, Sophie Tappeiner, Vienna. Courtesy: Artist and Sophie Tappeiner, Vienna; Photo: Kunst-Dokumentation.com
Two large casting sunglasses are installed on the facing wall, the dark green Vernal Pyre (all works, 2019) and the orange gold Threatening Our Shimmering Flag (the sparkling flag that threatens us)-also reminiscent of Kurdish Solar energy symbol on the national flag. The sun caused the eternal rotation of celestial bodies, witnessing the continuous cycle of life events-birth, celebration, death, mourning-constantly changing over time. On the ground space between the two suns, standing several purple, red and brown colored casts of female legs (mental thighs, whiplash halo, flames and sashain). These sexy lower bodies are evenly wrapped in cloth-like folds, which not only attracts their time-critical trivial actions, but also attracts the thin skin and flesh below, which highlights how to create femininity through clothing. Elsewhere, two headdresses made of granite, taffeta, and miyuki beads — cinder wreath and spider silk dawn — resemble women’s traditional Nuróz clothing.
Jala Wahid, cinder wreath, 2019, aluminum, taffeta, nylon, miyuki beads, 72×23×22 cm. Courtesy: Vienna artist and Sophie Tappeiner; photo: Kunst-Dokumentation.com
The arrangement of Wahid’s sun, headgear and legs hints at the relationship between the character and the ground, but the various components are not fully integrated. The boutique spotlight of each piece interprets it as a reconstructed scene of a festive dance, which causes the relationship and proportions between figurative elements to be confused by the flickering of beads, jade stones and fiberglass. Similar to the relative projection of the sun, the sharp contrast of lights points to the rotation of day and night, and strengthens the coexistence of mourning and celebration, which is vital to the meaning and expression of Nuróz. By substituting fragmented performance for imitative depiction, the artist emphasizes the exodus reality of people politically mediated by symbolic language.
Jala Wahid, “The Fiery Father”, 2019, installation view, Sophie Tappeiner, Vienna. Courtesy: Artist and Sophie Tappeiner, Vienna; Photo: Kunst-Dokumentation.com
The sound of drums coming from the basement of the gallery generates an energy that implies that the dance is at least predictable. The downstairs videotape “Fiery Father” shows a series of English subtitles in a custom font that imitates Arabic script. A verse written by Wahid pulsates with the beating of Arabic films and Persian drum daf, while the background of the film oozes oil and water under the moonlight. The title of the work refers to the Baba Gul oil field in northern Iraq-the so-called father of fire-which has been burning for thousands of years, and the Kurds dispute this control. Compared with the static sculptures upstairs, Fiery Father’s flashing words and beats finally showed the performance center of the Newroz celebration, while daf made me a witness to dance: “Dancing without ignoring death and gravity is derived from As Wahid said in her poem, it was buried in Baba Gurgur, emphasizing Kurdish culture through the intersection of myth and reality through expressing natural cycles and returning to the future. Tradition to express.
Main image: Jala Wahid, Newroz, 2019, exhibition view, Sophie Tappeiner, Vienna. Courtesy: Artist and Sophie Tappeiner, Vienna; Photo: Kunst-Dokumentation.com
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