Khairullah Rahim’s ‘boor-koo’ at Hayy Jameel

14 Jun 2023

Khairullah Rahim brings boor-koo to Saudi Arabia as part of the group exhibition Silent Hand at Hayy Jameel in Jeddah curated by Art Jameel’s Rotana Shaker, alongside guest curators Zain Al Saie and Jean Wong. The exhibition delves into the spaces of work, both physical and virtual, and their intersections with gender, financial independence, social mobility, and migration.

Khairullah’s presentation takes the form of a multimedia installation that incorporates various elements such as moving image works, masks, and prop objects. Derived from Rahim’s in-depth exploration of Boon Lay, Singapore, with a particular emphasis on observing pigeon flocks since 2020. Along side the installation, a one-day children’s workshop—Birds of A Feather— was hosted on the last day of May; an interactive element for children to create masks inspired by Khairullah’s pigeon masks using found objects from the Hayy Jameel vicinity. The workshop was led by the artist and a Singaporean artist, Jean Wong.

boor-koo will be on view at Hayy Jameel in Jeddah until 16 October 2023.

Images courtesy of Art Jameel. Photography by Mohamed Alaskandrani.