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  Heritage Wall no. 6, 2015 | 2015

Once a humble coastal town surrounded by a gated wall, Kuwait is now a sprawling metropolis, meandering between oil fields, sea and desert. Ushering its transition towards modernity, a series of acquired Master Plans transformed Kuwait's physical and social environment. The plan called for the demolition of old Kuwait to pave way for a new state capital. Today only five gates remain and have recently been revived as monuments of a recent past. They are considered to be heritage sites albeit being surrounded by highways and infrastructure. Heritage Wall no. 6 stands freely, at an angle, in the middle of a white box gallery space. The corner is broken off and the interior of the wall and it's construction is exposed. Parts of the wood are stained to reflect on the nationally cheap methods to present affluence and to question the theatrical renovations of the original heritage walls. A handicapped chair leans against the authoritative structure, balancing a 'reserved' plaque on it's lap. It's weathered appearance, physical disfunction and dependence on the structure is a metaphor for social dependency and reconstructions of national collective history.