Guncaps

The Boghossian Foundation presents the work of Ahmed Mater, one of the most significant artistic voices in the Middle East.

Echoing the exhibition Fire, two large-scale wall installations are presented in the Secretary of the Villa Empain: Hurriya (Freedom) and Salam (Peace). Part of the Guncaps series, each work is composed of thousands of small red toy gun caps, assembled to form words in Arabic.

Toy guns and their red caps were ubiquitous across Saudi Arabia in the late twentieth century and formed part of a shared childhood experience for many of Mater’s generation. Known as ‘Western Gun Caps’, they carried imagery drawn from American popular culture, particularly the figure of the cowboy. In Mater’s work, these objects are not associated with violence, but with playfulness, memory and cultural assimilation.

By drawing a parallel between the cowboy and the Bedouin, both figures of nomadism shaped by desert landscapes, Mater highlights shared values that transcend cultural and geographical boundaries. Through Hurriya and Salam, he transforms objects of childhood play into a reflection on freedom, peace and cultural exchange.

Ahmed Mater’s work resonates closely with the mission of the Boghossian Foundation, which seeks to foster dialogue and understanding between Eastern and Western cultures through art.