The Collective Struggle for Free Time

Continuing Aziz’s theme of urban abandonment is The Collective Struggle for Free Time, a photograph the artist took at the now-demolished Entertainment City amusement park in Kuwait. 

Entertainment City, opened in 1984, was one of the first amusement parks in the Gulf region. The park became a geopolitical symbol during and after the Gulf War, with images of its destruction by Iraqi soldiers circulating global media. Kuwait rebuilt the park in 1992 after its independence from the Iraqi occupation. 

Aziz documents a fragmented scene in this work, visually depicting the layers of geopolitical history embedded in the abandoned amusement park.