Because We Are Worth It

Back in May, Boutique 4 held an exhibition for artist Yves Hayat's work. Unfortunately for me, I couldn’t make it. But an art-loving friend of mine did and kept on praising Hayat’s artistic wit non-stop. So when I visited the boutique recently I was thrilled to see some few pieces left from the artist’s creations still on display.

“Because we are worth it”, is one of the artist’s masterpieces on display. It’s a questioning on the aftermath of the media destiny of highly emotional images of the Italian Pietà (Bellini, Carracci, Tiziano...). In 1990, the “Pietà of Kosovo” by Merillon showed a group of tearful women surrounding a deceased during one of the numerous conflicts which slaughtered the ex- Yougoslavia. By its formal resemblance and expressiveness, this image was the modern version of these “Pietà”. But when death is “posing”, it is easy to skid. Today, our civilization based on appearances and superficiality is represented by world renowned top models. Claudia, Naomi, Eva, Kate....these smooth and selling images, are everywhere. Taking possession of an ever growing space, they could one day also embody the tragedy of war and misery, because they are worth it.  This is sold as a one piece and I think it was priced at KD 8,000.

the Plexi glass boxes with “Icons are tired” concept, showing the sleepy faces of celebrities such as: Marlene Dietrich, Che Guevara and, Jim Morrison, and Picasso. Those faces are marked by the deterioration of an old and burnt film. They are sold separately and I think the one piece costs around KD 300+.

I love how Yves Hayat played with visuals and manipulated them in way that gives a different reality with some strong messages. The photos here do not do them justice. A must-go if you need to see something different in K-town.