The exhibition project Middle Gate II – The Story of Dymphna is a collaboration between M HKA (Museum of Contemporary Art Antwerp) and the cultural centre de Werft in Geel. Middle Gate II is the follow up to the exhibition Middle Gate, curated by Jan Hoet in Geel in 2013. The exhibition concept is closely tied to the legend of the holy Dymphna, saint of the possessed, the mentally ill and patroness against epilepsy and insanity. The legend of Dymphna shares a strong connection to the identity of Geel, "the charitable city".

MIGRATIE | MIGRATION

(c)image: M HKA
Moon Calendar Iraq, 2007
Video , 12 min

In his work, Hiwa K examines the events, encounters and many cultural and social paradoxes that have determined his life and personal experience as a political refugee. In Moon Calendar (Iraq), he tap-dances to his own heartbeat, which the public can hear live. As the dance proceeds, he loses control over his fast-moving feet, which after a certain point are unable to keep up with his heartbeat. The video was shot in one of Saddam Hussein’s former security buildings in Iraq. Although the video only shows a rehearsal, the viewer inevitably reads the work through the context of historical events, and the traumas of people who were imprisoned, tortured and killed there. The heart as the centre of the body is challenged. By denying it and remaining silent about the event, the artist paradoxically renders it visible. Thus, such an immerse practice becomes not only the possibility to tell the story of a people’s pain, but also opens the way for healing and overcoming trauma.