By: Liz Shaw
Installation view of The worst condition is to pass under a sword which is not one’s own, Michael Rakowitz, 2009. Courtesy of the Lombard-Freid Projects.
As my companion and I turned the corner into the Lombard Freid-Projects, Michael Rakowitz’s latest creation stopped us dead in our tracks. “Wow” we both exclaimed, staring wide-eyed at the central piece to the artist’s most recent exhibition “The worst condition is to pass under a sword which is not ones own”. The exhibition explores the relationship between science fiction and the design of Iraqi monuments and military uniforms under Saddam Hussein. Rakowitz’s pencil on vellum works, styled as graphic novels, trace the resurgence of Iraq through the lens of science fiction, specifically Star Wars; his monumental sculpture recalls the design of the Iraqi Victory Arch. Ultimately, his refreshingly original exhibition combines the childhood familiarity of comics, Star Wars and science fiction with the former dictators’ disturbing obsession.
The title of the show is taken from a speech made by Saddam Hussein in 1985. The phrase was used again in the 1989 dedication of the Victory Arch, commemorating Iraq's victory over Iran. In Rakowitz’s version of the Victory Arch the two giant crossed swords are assembled from pieces of toy light sabers. The arms holding the swords are covered in pages from the book Zabiba and the King, written by the former dictator himself. Copies of the novel, complete with the appropriated image from illustrator Jonathon Earl Bowser, as well as the original print are also on display. At the base of the arms Rakowitz has assembled thirty Feyadeen helmets made of dismembered G.I. Joe figures suspended in clear urethane plastic. I could not help but notice that the materials used to create the Victory Arch were, for the most part, toys. Was the implication that Saddam Hussein toyed with the Iraqi people and the world while he lived in a fantasy?
This statement seems more plausible upon reading the narrative of resurgence in Iraq, in pencil on vellum arranged around the room. Rakowitz details various instances that highlight the dictator and his sons’ obsessions with science fiction and other eerie happenings including: Uday Hussein’s appropriation of the exact design of Darth Vader’s helmet for his militia’s uniform and the faces of Iraqi leaders such as Saddam Hussein and Karim Quasin supposedly appearing on the moon shortly after their execution.
We left the Lombard-Freid Projects with the same sense of “wow” as when we had arrived. Not only does Rakowitz pack a visual punch, but the web of history, science and science fiction that he weaves will leave you more than satisfied.
“The worst condition is to pass under a sword which is not ones own” at Lombard-Freid Projects runs through April 4.
Lombard-Freid Projects
531
Take the A, C, or E train to 23rd and
Gallery Hours: Tues-F 10am-6pm, Sat 11am-6pm
Gallery Website: www.lombard-freid.com
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