It was almost unbelievable when I began asking around about the house of Mirrors and no one knew what I was talking about. 'Wait, you've lived here your whole life and an expat knows a place you don't. I'll take it.'
So, there is this lady that fell in love with a very well known Kuwaiti artist, Khalifa Qatton. She moved to Kuwait with him to settle (before the invasion) and decided while he was out at work or on business, she would do artsy things. Her medium? Mirrors. In the sixties, she began breaking mirrors (by cutting the shapes she wanted - not just smashing) and covering the outside of her house with them in mosaics.
During the invasion, they built an external wall around their house to protect themselves. And once that was over (humdallah) she continued her art on the inside...from top to bottom. She also mentioned that her display was done twice! What you see today is the second time she's mosaic'd her whole house. The first time she used too big of glass pieces, and it became dirty and finger-printed too quickly. The second time she was more enthusiastic about the idea, and was more careful--knowing the rights and wrongs of glass mosaics.
She shows your each room--all telling a story. I won't go too much into details because it's better lived than read. Though, she has a room about creation (big bang theory) and an AMAZING room about the solar system. My favorite room because things glowed-in-the-dark and you could throw artwork around (it stuck the the walls).
The final stop of the tour is her upstairs. Dedicated to her husband, the whole upstairs displays her deceased husbands artwork. She reminisces about him with such heart that you feel apart of their family.
Her house, the story, the hospitality was all breath-taking. If you're in Kuwait and you've never heard of this place, you need to check it out. There's a 2KD charge, but she welcomes you into her home, tells you her life-story, and of course gives you drinks and snacks (all homemade).
During the invasion, they built an external wall around their house to protect themselves. And once that was over (humdallah) she continued her art on the inside...from top to bottom. She also mentioned that her display was done twice! What you see today is the second time she's mosaic'd her whole house. The first time she used too big of glass pieces, and it became dirty and finger-printed too quickly. The second time she was more enthusiastic about the idea, and was more careful--knowing the rights and wrongs of glass mosaics.
She shows your each room--all telling a story. I won't go too much into details because it's better lived than read. Though, she has a room about creation (big bang theory) and an AMAZING room about the solar system. My favorite room because things glowed-in-the-dark and you could throw artwork around (it stuck the the walls).The final stop of the tour is her upstairs. Dedicated to her husband, the whole upstairs displays her deceased husbands artwork. She reminisces about him with such heart that you feel apart of their family.
Her house, the story, the hospitality was all breath-taking. If you're in Kuwait and you've never heard of this place, you need to check it out. There's a 2KD charge, but she welcomes you into her home, tells you her life-story, and of course gives you drinks and snacks (all homemade).
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