The deadline for applications for study grants given out by the British Institute at Ankara, one of the foreign schools and institutes supported by the British Academy, has been extended until April 14, 2014.
Funds of up to £2,000 per year will be given out to successful applications wishing to carry out research either in Turkey or in the Black Sea region on topics pertaining to history, society or culture.
Priority will be given to research projects with a historical dimension, even when the prime focus is on contemporary Turkey or climate issues. Applications for funding should fit within the BIAA’s research initiatives, which includes the climate and its historical and current impact; migration, minorities and regional identities; religion and politics in historical perspective; habitat and settlement in prehistoric, historical and environmental perspective; and cultural heritage, society and the economy.
Previous £2,000 grants have been given out to research topics, including ‘Ottoman Costume Albums in Turkish Collections’, ‘Legal Culture in the Black Sea: politics and religion in international law, 1772-1832’ and ‘Osteological Assessment of the Human Skeletal Remains from the Late Period Burials in the 4040 area at Çatalhöyük’.
Please visit BIAA's website to download the application forms. The closing date for all applications is April 14, 2014. Please email the London Manager at biaa@britac.ac.uk for more information.
Barbara and Zafer Baran’s retrospective exhibition at Istanbul Modern’s Photography Gallery presents a selection of works from 11 series completed by the couple between 1999 and 2013. The panoramic landscapes are nothing short of awe inspiring and the images in this blog really cannot do them justice. I strongly suggest you visit the exhibition, which is in its last three and a half weeks, to experience it for yourself.
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Atlas, 37°03'76.8"N, 27°15'84.6"E, 2000, archival pigment print, 34 x 34 cm, courtesy of the artists
In the series Atlas (1999–2000) the Barans photographed rocks and stones at archaeological and other sites. These static photographs somewhat differ from their later work in that they are primarily concerned with the motionless objects themselves as opposed to telling a story. Naming the photographs after the co-ordinates where the stones were found rather than their place names further frees the objects from cultural or social references.
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‘Ephemera #179’, 2002, archival pigment print, 113 x 100 cm, courtesy of the artists
Whereas Atlas explores permanence, in Ephemera (2002) the idea of transformation is examined through flowers. Cross-sections and close-ups of living plants and decaying specimens collected by the Barans evoke such themes as sexuality, reproduction and death. The photographs were taken using a special camera-less method developed by the couple – a modern extension of the photogram technique made possible by digital technology.
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‘Toxic Forest #2682’, 2003, archival pigment print, 100 x 133, courtesy of the artists
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Stills from ‘Toxic Forest (Red)’, 2005, DVD projection, 69”
Toxic Forest (2003–2005) focuses specifically on the exotic plant species Rhododendron ponticum. Introduced into Britain in the 18th century, it enlivened parks with its vibrant flowers until its poisonous qualities were discovered and it was deemed a weed. Using two different lighting conditions (twilight and bright sunlight), the Barans were able to capture both the claustrophobic environment of the plant and its gorgeous, vivid blooms. The juxtaposition of a dark, ominous forest with alluring close-ups of the flowers is rather effective.
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‘Herb Robert’ (triptych), 2006, archival pigment prints, each panel 138.6 x 86.8 cm, courtesy of the artists
The Weeds series (2006–2007) focuses on wild and unwanted plants, in both agriculture and ornamental gardening. The couple capture the unappreciated, modest beauty of these plants and the creatures that co-exist with them, such as tiny insects and a spider that has managed to crawl into one frame.
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‘Fluid Bodies #11’, 2008, archival pigment print, 147.2 x 100 cm, courtesy of the artists
In Particles and Fluid Bodies (2007–2008), close-ups of seeds and dust invite us to explore the similarities between particles from crushed fruit and the circulation of a human body. Ultimately, we are all just atoms.
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‘Xanthos / Letoon’, 2007, archival pigment print, each 32 x 32 cm, courtesy of the artists
Xanthos / Letoon (2007) takes its name from the administrative and religious centres of the Lycian civilisation located in present-day Antalya and Muğla. The most important artefacts from Xanthos are now in the British Museum, but for this series the Barans visited the area specifically in search of seeds and botanical specimens. The results are striking images reminiscent of sea creatures.
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‘Turner’s View’, 18:30, 10.02.08, 2008, digital chromogenic print, 55 x 150 cm, courtesy of the artists
Turner’s View (2006–2009) presents photographs taken from the vantage point of Richmond Hill in London, where the famous painter himself once worked. The views captured show the beauty of colourful sunsets and changes to the environment visible to the naked eye. Technological advances and air pollution (Heathrow Airport is close by) have resulted in a natural environment that looks rather different from Turner’s Romantic landscapes.
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‘Metropolis #4848’, 2008, archival pigment print, 48 x 72 cm, courtesy of the artists
In contrast to Turner’s View, the Metropolis series (2008–2011) looks down, giving bird’s-eye views of towns and cities from inside an aircraft.
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‘Star Drawing #5855’, 2010
In Star Drawings (2009–2010), long-exposure photographs turn stars into pencils, tracing their movement against skyscapes. Inspired by cave drawings, the Barans capture dizzying shapes created by moving their camera. The result is a brilliant testament to both drawing and photography.
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‘Twelve Moon Drawings (with Wind and Water), 23:06:14 – 23:07:25’, 2012, archival pigment print, 180 x 90 cm, courtesy of the artists
In Moon Drawings (2012–2013) the camera points up instead of down to reveal natural drawings of the moon’s reflection on the sea. Recording the changes on the surface of the sea through the movements of water and wind, these photographs either resemble graphic compositions or are reminiscent of musical notes and even hieroglyphics.
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‘Observatory 7’, 2002, digital chromogenic print, 70 x 70 cm, courtesy of the artists
The final image of the exhibition also gives it its name. At first sight you may be forgiven for thinking you are looking at solar flares or an extreme close-up of the pupil of an eye. In fact it depicts a much simpler object – an apple fallen from a tree seen through a telescope from the observatory built by Zafer Baran’s father above Izmir in 1960. The photograph has symbolic meaning in terms of observation and particularly the examination of objects from different perspectives, which – as you might have gathered – is crucial to the work of the Barans.
London is awash with purchasable bouty this week. Sotheby’s, Christie’s and Bonhams have set out their gorgeous wares in anticipation of the week's Islamic art auctions. All three are open for viewing on Sunday afternoon.
SEVEN SALES IN FOUR DAYS For viewing times see Events.
April 8 BONHAMS BOND STREET: ISLAMIC AND INDIAN ART
For the most part, India outshines the Ottomans in this sale, with objects ranging form Jaipur jewellery to a glorious tiger miniature from Udaipur, c1860 (Lot 275), but there are a few well kept Ottoman secrets.
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Among them are this lethal beauty with its delicately nielloed scabbard, Lot 180 at Bonhams (est £12–16,000). It has been dated to the late 16th or early 17th-century Ottoman, though the inscription on the dagger's blade is later (H982, or AD1872–72).
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This finely wrought iron plaque inlaid with silver and inscribed with the words 'The house where chain-mail is made’ is an Ottoman horseshoe of Balkan origin (Lot 182, est £3–5,000).
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And not everything at Bonhams has to be fabulously expensive. Take this lovely set of Beykoz glass at Bonhams, for example (Lot 130, est £3–4,000).
April 8 CHRISTIE'S KING STREET: ORIENTAL RUGS AND CARPETS
Christie's put on a splendid rug display in their central galleries.
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This year's offerings include the Bernheimer Coupled-Columned Prayer Rug (Lot 13, est £50–80,000), woven in Western Anatolia in the mid-17th centur and so-called after the dealer Otto Bernheimer, who owned it as early as 1959. It was y.
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Also highly rated, a Star Ushak rug from a Florentine collection, dated to the late 16th century (Lot 50, est £70–100,000)
April 8 SOTHEBY'S BOND STREET: THE ORIENTALIST SALE
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The Orientalist Sale at Sotheby’s (April 8) will appeal more to Arab/North African taste than to Turkophiles. When Istanbul does appear, it is often lightweight and barely recognisable, as in the British artist George Henry Laporte’s Noblemen before Constantinople, signed and dated 1835 – perfectly OK for the cover for an Oriental bodice-ripper (est £20–30,000).
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More instructive is a pretty painting by the French artist Louis-Emile Pinel de Grandchamp (1831–94) of the brand-new Nusretiye Mosque in Tophane, the first of the Istanbul 'ballroom mosques' – a little naive in terms of perspective, the painting does have a charm, with every window (and what a lot there are) and weight-tower carefully delineated (Lot 33, est £50–70,000).
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A typical, if demure, painting of its genre is Captive in the Harem, by the Hungarian Ferencz Eisenhut (1857–1903), which at least is an inventory of sorts of dubious bazaar brocante (Lot 22, est £50–70,000). The great Ottoman Orientalist-cum-archaeologist Osman Hamdi Bey's stiff variations on the theme now fetch millions.
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We can think of at least one collector in Izmir who will not want to miss out on 'Fatima of Smirne' by Ippolito Caffi (1809–1866) (Lot 31, est £20–40,000). The Italian artist, admired for his treatment of light, would drown bravely attempting to paint at first hand the Battle of Lissa. The Italian ship, he was on, was sunk on July 20, 1866, by the Austrian navy in what was the first major sea battle involving ironclads.
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For us, a highlight of the sale is a still-life by one of the few Turkish artists represented, the Paris-trained Şeker Ahmed Pasha (1841–1906), many of whose works can be found in the Sakıp Sabancı Museum's vaults. His wonderful still-life with quinces and apples, Lot 35, signed 'Ahmed Aly’ in both Latin and Arabic alphabet, and dated 1900, is expected to fetch up to £150,000. The saying Taş yerinde ağırdır! – a stone is heavier in its place of origin – should ensure that it flies home to Turkey, or at least will do when the country puts its growing economic and political uncertainties behind it.
April 9 SOTHEBY'S BOND STREET: ARTS OF THE ISLAMIC WORLD
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First on the list of Ottoman wonders at Sotheby's is a collection of 27 sultan's portraits, down to Abdülmecid I, who reigned from 1825 to 1861, which dates to roughly the mid-19th century (Lot 94, est £100–150,000).
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Sotheby's Lot 183 (est £20–30,)000 is a beautiful Ottoman leather document in favour with 18th-century ambassadors to the Sublime Porte, though this one has obviously been carefully preserved and never used. On the back it is inscribed 'M Le Comte de Caraman, 1781', with the heraldic emblem of the illustrious Caraman-Chimay. Victor Maurice de Riquet de Caraman-Chimay was a passionate landscape designer who helped his friend Marie-Antoinette to create her hamlet in Versailles gardens.
April 10 CHRISTIE'S KING STREET: ART OF THE ISLAMIC AND INDIAN WORLDS
In this sale Christie's include part V of a private collection donated to benefit the University of Oxford.
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The star of Christie's Ottoman offerings has to be a dramatic blue and white Iznik bowl c1510 (Lot 188, est. £300–500,000).
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Among the manuscripts look out for this delightful portrait of Ahmed III from the early 18th century (Lot 213, est £8–12,000).
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Form court to country: also from 18th-century is this mad ceramic saucer from Kütahya, measuring 14.6cm in diameter (Lot 209, est £5,000–7,000).
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And finally something utterly 19th-century: a piece of silver-gilt enamelled Abdülhamid II's Yıldız Mosque, featured in the next issue of Cornucopia (Lot 224, est £20–30,000)
April 11 CHRISTIE'S SOUTH KENSINGTON: ARTS AND TEXTILES OF THE ISLAMIC AND INDIAN WORLDS
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For more purely decorative shopping, head for Christie's South Kensington, where you will find this delightful Safavid with his dog, c1620–30 (Lot 154, est £3,000–5,000).
Day by day, Istanbul is looking more and more like a construction playhouse than a city whose history dates back 1500 years. With more and more narcissistic projects signed off by the bulldozer-happy finger of Prime Minister Erdoğan, it is becoming increasingly hard to keep track of exactly what is going and what is staying. Below is a map which zeroes in on the top ten most gruesome development projects in the city.
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Key: Blue with dot – 1; Turquoise with dot – 2; Yellow with dot – 3; Red with dot – 4; Green with dot – 5; Purple with dot – 6; Magenta with dot – 7; Blue, Red and Green – 8; Turquoise – 9; Yellow – 10
1.Third Bosphorus Bridge: The Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge will link the European side with the Asian side from the tiny fishing village Garipçe in Sarıyer with Poyrazköy in Beykoz. Plans for the bridge were approved in 2012, the project was awarded to İçtaş-Astaldi consortium in May 2012 and the foundation stone was laid on May 29, 2013, the anniversary day of the conquest of Constantinople in 1453. Work was briefly halted in July 2013 when it became evident that the site was miscalculated, but by then thousands of trees were already destroyed. With two bridges already linking the European and Asian sides, the question begets: is a third bridge really necessary? Status: In progress – excavation works for the bridge and consequent highways in full swing Read more:Roar Mag,Today’s Zaman, Parallels, the Guardian, Bloomberg Organisations trying to stop it: Northern Forests Defence
2.Third airport: A third airport promises to wipe out a proportion of the Belgrade Forest – the lungs of the city – and Terkoz Lake, the city’s chief drinking water source. The new airport is to be constructed around the areas of Arnavutköy, Göktürk and Çatalca and is said to cover almost 80 square kilometres of land near Terkoz Lake. Some 62 square kilometres of this area is state-owned forestland. A study conducted on the environmental impact of the project and published in April 2013 reported that very large numbers of trees would need to be cut or moved to new places. The Turkish Chamber of Environmental Engineers (ÇMO) has taken the project tender to court on the grounds that it violates the existing legislation as it did not conduct an environmental impact assessment report. An Istanbul administrative court suspended the construction in February this year. Days later, government officials pledged that construction would still continue. Status: Court rules suspension, but construction continues Read more: Today’s Zaman, Wall Street Journal, Demotix, The Telegraph Organisations trying to stop it:Northern Forests Defence, Turkish Chamber of Environmental Engineers, Chamber of Environmental Engineers Istanbul Branch
3. Kanal Istanbul: A project for an artificial sea-level waterway that will connect the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara, bisecting the European side. Aimed to minimise shipping traffic on the Bosphorus, the project is intended to be completed on the 100th anniversary of the Turkish Republic in 2023. Environmental experts point out very grave concerns, primarily that the Black Sea will drain into the Marmara Sea. If the present height difference between the Black Sea and Sea of Marmara (currently 30 cm) decreases to 28 cm, a catastrophe could happen, causing a major disruption to the ecological balances that have formed over the last 3,500 years. Not to mention all the land that will be wiped out to make way for the canal. Status: In progress Read more:BBC, Stratfor, Hürriyet Daily News, The Atlantic Cities, Baker Institute Organisations trying to stop it:The Black Sea Uprise Platform, Pangea Ecology
4.Shopping centre in Gezi Park: All hell broke loose in May 2013 when plans to turn Gezi Park in Taksim into yet another shopping centre resulted in thousands of protests occupying the park. The consequent protests erupted into the ‘hottest’ (politically speaking) summer in Turkey’s recent history. But, all the bloodshed and the tears and the tear gas were for nothing in the end. In late May, a court issued an injunction preventing construction in Gezi Park but in late July, a higher court lifted this injunction unanimously. Status: Construction halted – for now
Read more: BBC, New York Times, Keele European Research Centre, Occupy Gezi Organisations trying to stop it:Taksim Gezi Park Association
5.Fancy villas and a housing project in Sulukule: Istanbul’s 1,000-year-old neighbourhood and home to the largest Roma community in the city fell victim to urban transformation when, in 2008, 3,400 Roma living in Sulukule were forced to sell their homes for TL500 per square metre to private investors and the Fatih Municipality. Despite worldwide protests, a UNESCO warning and court cases to halt the project, forced evictions and demolitions came in full force. The residents were forced to move to Public Housing Project (TOKI) apartments in Taşoluk 40 km away. A source of much anger and frustration, this horrendous project even provided the basis for a brilliant video work by the Turkish artist Halil Altındere exhibited at the 2013 Istanbul Biennial. Status: Most of the modern ‘Ottoman-style’ villas, offices and TOKI modern apartment buildings have been completed Read more:Housing is a Human Right, the Guardian, Hürriyet Daily News, Reclaim Istanbul Organisations trying to stop it:Istanbul Urban Movements, Istanbul Assembly for Urban and Housing Rights, Inter Forum Group on Urban Transformation
6. A development of shops and cafes at the Yedikule bostans: Our hearts bled at the news in July 2013 that the Fatih Municipality has ordered the destruction of one of the last bostans (market gardens) inside Istanbul's city walls. The land, acquired by the Municipality in 2010, stands in the shadow of the Byzantine/Ottoman fortress of Yedikule, in one of the Old City’s most historically important districts. These 1600-year old gardens are known as the home of an exquisite cos lettuce or marul in Turkish (Lactuca sativa L. var. longifolia). Alexander Sapov, a PhD student at Harvard and an expert in Ottoman agricultural practices, spent most of the summer and autumn in Istanbul with a team of ardent supporters fighting the good fight against the destruction of these gardens. Status: Still fighting the good fight Read more:The New Yorker, The Atlantic Cities, Istanbul Eats, Cornucopia 50 Organisations trying to stop it:Yedikule Gardens Preservation Initiative
7. ‘Regeneration’ of Fener–Balat on the Golden Horn: Part of the Golden Horn has already been destroyed for the ghastly Vialand, Turkey’s own Disneyland, but that’s not all. The seeds for the Fener–Balat urban regeneration project were planted in 2003. Originally, this project was meant to be sustainable and was aimed at supporting the inhabitants of the neighbourhood, but it was terminated in 2007 and from then, the Fatih Municipiality started a new project to replace the individual buildings with large-scale luxury housing, hotels and shopping centres. A massive redevelopment has already destroyed neighbouring Ayvansaray and there’s more to come. Status: Project halted with court order Read more:Hürriyet Daily News, Today’s Zaman, Topographical Practices, the Fatih Municipiality fights back, Bianet, Marmara Government Organisations trying to stop it:FEBAYDER, Istanbul Urban Movements
8. Train and boat stations:Kadiköy’s Haydarpaşa Station was closed at the end of 2012 and is for sale. And a few weeks ago, it was announced that the historic Sirkeci station is also under threat. Not to mention, the century-old Beşiktaş boat station behind the Shangri-La Hotel is to be sold or leased off. Status: Selling to the highest bidder Read more:Today’s Zaman, Railly News
9. A mosque on Çamlıca Hill: Istanbul’s highest hill (268 metres) and an important bird migration point is to be developed and dwarfed by a new mosque. Besides the environmental concerns, images of the planned mosque reveal a ‘pastiche’ Ottoman-style concrete monstrosity. Erdoğan announced plans for the mosque in 2012 but just a month later – following strong public discontent – the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Ertuğrul Günay, announced that there were no such plans, concretely anyway. A few weeks later, however, it became clear that the mosque would be built. Erdoğan appointed Hacı Mehmet Güner, the public works director of the Kahramanmaraş Municipality, as the head architect of the project. Status: In progress Read more:CoLab Radio, Reuters, Global Site Plans, The National Organisations trying to stop it:Istanbul Urban Movements
10. A shopping complex at the site of Emek Cinema: Istanbul’s oldest and most famous cinema will be pulled down to make way for a shopping and entertainment centre. After a lengthy legal battle, a local court approved the developer’s plans in December 2012. The wolves behind the redevelopment, Kamer Construction, told Radikal newspaper that the Emek Cinema ‘is not being torn down, it is being saved from being torn down’. ‘Under our project, Emek Theatre is being preserved in its entirety while being placed on a higher floor of the structure to be built through a technique called “moving”. According to our project, Emek will be accompanied by 10 other movie theatres. The aim here is to create a movie complex with Emek at the centre of it,” Kamer continued. Demonstrations against this development included some of the biggest names in the Turkish film industry, a specific initiative has been set up to fight the construction and the 33rd Istanbul Film Festival is being used a very timely platform to do this. Status: Cinema closed, awaiting further plans Read more: The Guardian, BBC, Global Post, Vice Organisations trying to stop it: The film industry, Emek Cinema Platform
Main image is of the construction in Sulukule, taken from the Global Post.
Embroidery was king at the London Antique Rug and Textile Art Fair (LARTA). If the middle market for traditional textiles and carpets is slow, auction prices for embroidery – typically silk on cotton, often from Uzbekistan – are running strong.
Top of the line at LARTA was a dowry suzani (the term, of Persian origin, literally means needlework) from Shakhrisabz, Uzbekistan, with dealer James Cohen and priced at £38,500, dating from the late 18th or early 19th century (above). Typically the design would have been drawn in pencil on the ground cloth, by a bazaar professional, before the material was divided into strips for members of the bride’s family to prove their skills at embroidery. The result is a swirl of strong reds and greens in a flower design full of ‘energy and motion’ and in great condition, said Cohen.
The fair was in its fourth year at the Showroom Gallery in NW8, a curiously insalubrious location off Edgware Road, though the closely gathered stands over two floors did have a bit of the bazaar about them. LARTA ran from April 3rd to 6th, and seemed a little quiet this year, but many of the featured pieces are still on sale, and a new ‘virtual fair’ on the fair’s website drew 700 views.
While things at the top of the carpets and textiles market have ‘never been better’, the middle market is tough; a familiar story from the fine arts market in recent years. Collectors are ageing, ‘dropping off at the top, and not really coming in at the bottom’, one dealer said. Blame it on the short attention span in today’s culture, or a higher entry price for quality goods.
That being said, embroidery is running strongly in the auction market at the moment, with good pieces making serious money. There were several fine examples among the 11 dealers at the fair, with more due in the sales this week.
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My personal favourite – for a complete novice in the trade – was a Tekke Turkoman asmalyk, a wedding camel trapping, in the typical pentagon shape but in a beautifully simple red and dark indigo blue embroidery, at €19,000, on sale from Andy Lloyd (avove).
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At Aaron Nejad’s stand, a silk embroidery on a greeny-black velvet had a decorative style with paisley swirls that was typically Persian, said to resemble in style a Zoroastrian wedding shawl, but curiously a sewn inscription from Bokhara, and priced at £3,750 (above).
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On offer at Markus Voigt Textiles was a rare landscape scene, a silk embroidery on linen with gold and silver metal thread, featuring a mosque and other buildings, dated to the 1800s, showing the influence of rococo on Ottoman design of the time. The only end of a cummerbund to survive, it was priced at £1,200. Embroideries are ‘highly sought after’, said Voigt, with pieces that were brought back to Western Europe in the days of the Grand Tour now being bought by Turkish dealers for the Istanbul trade.
A second small embroidery on Voigt’s stand was a bath towel in similar style, with the weft showing the surface loops, a technique developed in Turkey to better soak up moisture in a hamam. It was picked up by English weavers who named their large towels ‘Turkish towels’.
At the Joss Graham Gallery, a Moroccan djellaba cloak caught the eye, dating to about 1930, made by one particular tribe in the Atlas Mountains on a warp-weighted loom going back to Roman times. It was priced at £1,800.
Graham was also offering a fragment of psychedelically coloured silk from Bokhara, with natural dyes creating unnaturally vivid blues and reds. ‘When the Europeans first visited there in the 19th century they complained that people were unbearably gaudy,’ said Graham. ‘It has taken a psychedelic revolution for us to appreciate their colour sense.’
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But one of his key pieces was a fine embroidered Bukhara suzani, £9,000, again a dowry piece made in strips and put back together. It had shades of three different reds, with what looked like carnations alongside blue irises. Then there were the all important details, from birds to upturned water jugs, symbolising fertility in the desert, and a curious apotropaic symbol (above), looking something like a thistle, against the power of evil.
We are concentrating on the galleries around the Tophane area this week, as part of our two-part Karaköy/Tophane gallery walk. We visit some of the younger galleries on the Istanbul art scene, which are all fittingly exhibiting solo shows of emerging Turkish artists. Most of the galleries are located on Boğazkesen Caddesi (above image), a long street that links Tophane with Istiklâl Caddesi.
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Gülçin Aksoy’s ‘Archive’, 2012, installation
GÜLÇIN AKSOY’S DOUBLE STORY
Let’s start at the bottom of Kumbaracı Yokuşu, just inland from the Tophane tram stop, where the former tobacco warehouse DEPO is hosting an interesting historical show. Gülçin Aksoy’s Double Story explores ‘the issues which arose after the 1980 military coup such as post-80s urbanisation and a lack of self-criticism and confrontation on a personal and social scale,’ as according to DEPO’s Asena Günal.
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Gülçin Aksoy, ‘Umur’, 2014
Günal particularly likes the two works above: the first one is a sculpture of the artist’s leftist brother who was killed during the coup, and the second is an installation showing the Umur building, which was inhabited by the artist’s family, then by several leftist organisations and then demolished. Works are priced from TL1,000 to TL3,000. Contact the artist directly on gulcinaksoy@gmail.com.
‘This exhibition examines collective memory through personal memory. The title ‘Double Story’ refers to the story of my twin siblings, one who died and the other who was forced to seek asylum, as well as the double narratives that developed around it. Double meanings, opposite or meaningless concepts, originating in any geography, take into consideration how significant geography is to a person’s life,’ says Aksoy.
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Meltem Sırtıkara, ‘Online’, 2014, diptych, oil on canvas, paper, rope, 175 x 130 cm
MELTEM SIRTIKARA’S MATTER OF TIMING
Backtrack across the park to the next street leading up to Istiklâl – directly opposite the Kılıç Ali Paşa complex – Boğazkesen Caddesi. At No 45, big, brash industrial space Mixer is hosting the solo exhibition of Meltem Sırtıkara. A Matter of Timing consists of installations, paintings and photography, and focuses on the impact of technology and mass communication devices on relationships. ‘The artist argues that romantic relationships have now shifted to a level where the parts seem close to each other but eventually fall apart because of the rampant use of technology in everyday life,’ says Mixer’s director, Bengu Gün. Prices range from TL50 to TL8,000. Besides the temporary exhibition, artworks of other artists are displayed in the Open Space and Editions areas.
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Meltem Sırtıkara, ‘Zeroes in My Life’ from the ‘Imaginary One’ series, photo collage installation
The artist’s favourite work in the exhibition is the above piece. ‘This is a photo collage installation focusing on identities transformed through time and the value we attribute to the characters in our lives. We as human beings are helpless when it comes to emotions. This is my favourite work because every single person has these kinds of concerns these days: identity is the core question in our lives,’ she says.
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Ahmet Duru, ‘Care to throw up 1’, 2014, 110 x 80 cm
AHMET DURU’S SOMEWHERE AROUND HERE
Cross the road and in a few minutes you will reach Daire, which has moved from its previous location to No 76A. The gallery is hosting the first solo exhibition of the young artist Ahmet Duru. Somewhere around here consists of realistic acrylic paintings on canvas and drawings. ‘Duru’s paintings and drawings are presented in a complementary way. Some of these are small micro details of the ‘big picture’ drawings,’ says the gallery’s founder, Selin Söl. Prices range from TL500 to TL14,000.
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Ahmet Duru, ‘Not nervous’, 2014, 100 x 85 cm
Commenting on his production process, the artist says that: ‘I first make sketches of my ideas in my mind and then I decide whether to draw or paint these ideas.’
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Füruzan Şimşek, ‘Antichrist’, 2014, acrylic on canvas, 150 x 118 cm
FÜRUZAN ŞIMŞEK’S BOUNDARY
Next door, a new addition to our gallery walks, Pg Art Gallery at No 76B which first opened in 1993, is hosting the solo show of Füruzan Şimşek, who is known for her paintings which depict scenes from the daily lives of urbanites and their existential problems. Boundary features a selection of Şimşek’s latest paintings, which are look very realistic and are quietly effective.
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Güneş Terkol’s ‘Holographic Recording’
GÜNEŞ TERKOL’S HOLOGRAPHIC RECORDING
A steepish climb up the street, on a side street called Nur-i Ziya Sokak which will be on your left, Galeri NON is in its last week of exhibiting the solo show of Güneş Terkol, who tells her stories through the use of fabrics, slides, video installations, as well as more unusual techniques such as daylight, sounds and exteriors. In Holographic Recording, the artist focuses on various narratives she has constructed in different cities over the last two years.
All images, except for mail image, courtesy of respective galleries. Main image from http://www.gezenesor.com/mekan/bogazkesen-caddesi-beyoglu istanbul/resimler/65130.
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Key: Blue – DEPO, Red – Mixer, Green – Daire, Yellow – Pg Art Gallery, Purple – Galeri NON
Roll up, roll up – Istanbul’s biggest film festival has landed. Beginning last Saturday (April 5) and lasting until Sunday April 20, almost 250 films will be screened from every corner of the globe as part of the 33rd Istanbul Film Festival.
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Still from ‘Frank’
The International Competition category is less diverse, countrywise, than in previous years, with nothing from the Middle East, Asia, Latin America or even the USA. Out of the 12 films competing there are nine from Europe, two from Canada and one from my neck of the woods, Australia. Tracks, the new film from John Curran, is a mesmerising adaption of the Australian author Robyn Davidson’s novel of the same name about the journey he made across the Australian outback with four camels in 1977. The weird and wonderful English production Frank, which premiered at Sundance in January, tells of an eccentric band whose leader, Frank, wears a giant mask on his head (the inspiration for which came from Frank Sidebottom, stage persona of the late British singer and comedian Chris Sievey). Daniele Luchetti’s new film Those Happy Years once again takes the audience on a semi-autobiographical journey into the director’s dysfunctional family in 1970s Italy. Arthouse lovers will fall for 20,000 Days on Earth, the debut feature from the Goldsmiths graduates Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard, which follows a fictitious 24 hours in the life of the enigmatic musician Nick Cave (another Aussie). And Me, Myself and Mum is an absolute gem of a film telling the story of the celebrated French stage actor Guillaume Gallienne’s sexually confused youth, during which his mother treated him as the daughter she never had. Toying with gay movie clichés and coming-out stories, Gallienne plays the roles of both his younger self and his mother in this hilarious, heart-warming tale.
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Still from ‘The Zero Theorem’
The Galas and Masters categories feature films that have proved popular during the awards season, some of which will be screened in Turkish cinemas later in the year. Highlights include The Grand Budapest Hotel (main image), the latest from the king of quirk, Wes Anderson and touted as his best yet. Stephen Frears’s multi-award-winning Philomena tells the story of an elderly Irishwoman who sets out to find the son taken from her as a baby by nuns and given up for adoption. The latest from the master British director and Monty Python alumni Terry Gilliam, The Zero Theorem, has all the visual elements of his best-loved film Brazil, but doesn’t quite live up to its humour and strong narrative. It is also the last chance to see the controversial Dutch director Lars Von Trier’s Nymphomaniac, banned by the government when it was released in Turkey a few months back. For those unable to bear the four-hour-long sex fest (not actually erotic), the film has been split into two sessions.
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Still from ‘La Jaula De Oro’
In the Human Rights section Trans X Istanbul tells of the transgender community in Turkey, while Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case is about the world-renowned Chinese artist who spent 81 days in prison in 2011 and is now under house arrest, and the Mexican La Jaula De Oro takes a poetic look into the lives of migrants. The Georgian director Zaza Urushadze’s witty drama Tangerines is another highlight, telling of the plight of Estonians in Georgia during the Abkhazian War.
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Still from ‘Ayhan Hanım‘
The Istanbul Film Festival screens one of the largest selection of Turkish films of all the country's festivals, with 36 films spanning popular features, films from emerging talent, documentaries and shorts. Many explore social and political issues and topics pertinent to women, with the usual melodramas kept at bay. Highlights include the latest from the renowned director Reha Edrem: Singing Women tells of a group of women who unite when their island community is issued with an evacuation order in the face of an impending earthquake. Ayhan Hanım tells the story of a family during the 1980 military coup. Last year’s award-winning The Impeccables, delicately dealing with a very serious issue (which I won’t reveal), will also be screened. The documentary selection is strong too. Love will change the way… is about people from very diverse backgrounds coming together during the Gezi Park protests, while Jazz in Turkey explores the evolution of Turkish jazz and its musicians.
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Still from ‘Pussy Versus Putin’
Speaking of documentaries, the documentary section (sponsored by NTV, notorious for screening documentaries on penguins during the Gezi Park protests last summer) has some goodies in store: the story of the Russian feminist punk band Pussy Riot is told through snippets filmed on smartphones and handheld cameras in Pussy versus Putin, the economic crisis is explored in Master of the Universe, and revolutionist youngsters in the Syrian city of Homs are the focus of Return to Homs. Famous faces – from sports stars to writers to Hollywood directors – also get a look-in. The eponymous Bertolucci on Bertolucci is a film-essay on cinema from the Italian master director, The Armstrong Lie explores the doping scandal surrounding disgraced cycling champion Lance Armstrong, and Salinger is a fascinating documentary on one of America’s most elusive novelists, JD Salinger.
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Still from ‘White Shadow’, screening under the ‘From the World of Festivals’ category
There are numerous other categories, including films that won critical acclaim or audience appreciation at international festivals, films from young directors, ground-breaking or edgy films that are way outside the mainstream, light-hearted films, midnight movies, an LGBT section, films from the celebrated Russian filmmaker Alexei Guerman, and others. For the ‘What a Pair’ category, an eclectic selection of Turkish classics has been chosen to celebrate 100 years of Turkish cinema.
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Still from ‘Papusza’
As this year marks the 600th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Poland, a number of Polish films or films by Polish directors will be screened. The beautifully shot Papusza, competing in the International Competition, is based on the true story of Bronisława Wajs, aka Papusza, the first Roma poet to have her poems translated into Polish and officially published. The notorious Polish director Roman Polanski’s Venus in Fur screens in the Galas category. Experimental animation from Poland is also explored in ‘Polish Experimental Animation: An Anthology’.
For those keen to delve deeper into cinema and filmmaking, the festival is also offering free panels and masterclasses as part of the ‘Meetings on the Bridge Panels’ programme. Topics such as a pitching your script, getting the right film score and filming documentaries will be discussed and workshopped at Akbank Sanat. Click here for the full programme.
Each film screens one to three times at ten different cinemas: Atlas in Beyoğlu, Beyoğlu Cinema, Feriye Cinema in Ortaköy, Citylife in Nişantaşı, Rexx in Kadıköy, the Pera Museum Cinema, Salon IKSV in Şişhane, Akbank Sanat Cinema on Istiklal Caddesi, the French Cultural Centre on Istiklal Caddesi and the Istanbul Modern Cinema. Tickets can be purchased from Biletix or directly from the venues.
It is quite hard to comprehend the extraordinary detail of the Orientalist Rudolf Weisse’s painting, The Palace Guard (above). The length of the Qajar helmet that sits on an embroidered cloth in the picture is about 10 cm, from the tip of its spike to the bottom edge of the chain mail draping down. But the links and layers of the mail are so precisely painted – with the etchings and reflection on the helmet itself in such fine photographic detail – that you imagine Weisse’s brush with barely one or two hairs. The same is true for the copper etching on the Turkish aiguière, or spouted water pitcher, in the 46 by 31 cm painting, and the marquetry of the guéridon table it sits on.
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Rudolf Weisse, ‘The Palace Guard’ (detail), oil on panel, 46 x 31 cm
There’s little in the Sotheby’s catalogue to say where Weisse, a Czech artist who died in 1930, found his Ottoman subject and his furnishings. But the picture’s quality was reflected in the Sotheby’s Orientalist sale in London this week, when it sold for £145,500 including buyer’s premium, over twice its estimate. It was a standout piece in the sale, which collected a total of £4,825,9000, but in which the two of the priciest works, a Cairo bazaar scene by David Roberts, and a giant three-metre-square canvas by Ludwig Deutsch, failed to sell.
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Ludwig Deutsch, ‘The Procession of the Mahmal through the Streets of Cairo’, oil on canvas, 294 x 284 cm
The Deutsch, The Procession of the Mahmal through the Streets of Cairo (above), was the sale’s cover lot, estimated at £1–1,500,000. Deutsch is much better known as a painter of Weisse’s precision and scale, with works that are typically just a couple of feet across, like a work that sold for just over £2 million last year. But in the early 20th century Deutsch turned impressionistic and the epic canvas was thought to be his biggest ever. You’d also need a palace, or a museum, to hang it.
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Carlo Bossoli, ‘The Çırağan Palace, Topkapı beyond’, tempera on linen canvas, 180 x 116 cm
On the Turkish front a panorama of Istanbul by the Italian artist Carlo Bossoli sold for £314,500 (above). The auctioneer says there was both ‘Turkish and internationalist’ interest in the painting but can’t reveal whether it has joined the stream of major Orientalist works heading for the Gulf states, or perhaps found a Turkish buyer. The other lingering puzzle about the painting is exactly which palace it shows.
In tempura on linen, by an artist who travelled in both the Crimea and Turkey, the painting has a clean architectural look to it, in bright bleached whites and blues. Sotheby’s Adrian Biddell described it as ‘fine and rare, almost unique’.
According to the auction catalogue, it was painted in Turin in 1847 and shows the Dolmabahçe Palace, with Topkapı beyond, and other landmarks. This entry was drawn from the list of Bossoli’s artworks in the painter’s catalogue raisonné. As soon as the printed catalogue was issued, however, Sotheby’s got a call to say the work showed the Çırağan Palace, and changed the description in the auction room and online.
While the painting definitely bears little resemblance to the Dolmabahçe, it doesn’t look much like the Çırağan either. There’s a simple reason: in 1910 a great fire wrecked the Çırağan, now the Kempinski hotel, leaving only the outer walls intact. So the work is either a historically important record or a guessing game, and the new owner will have to correct a lingering puzzle about the dates. If it’s the Çırağan, a Balyan building constructed between 1863 and 1867, the listed date for the picture is also wrong (the Dolmabahçe, by contrast, was built between 1844 and 1856).
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Şeker Ahmet Pasha, ‘Still Life with Fruit’, oil on canvas, 55 x 38 cm
Utterly unlike the overtly Orientalist flavour of every other painting in the sale, was a Still Life with Fruit (above) by the Turkish artist, Ahmet Ali, also known as Şeker Ahmet Pasha. Born in Üsküdar and trained as a medic and a soldier, he was sponsored to go to Paris to train with Gustave Boulanger, who also taught Osman Hamdi Bey. When he returned to Istanbul in 1871 he earned high rank in the Ottoman court and was instrumental in acquiring many artworks from France. The picture sold for £122,500, respectably between its low and high estimates.
It is surprising that Marc Quinn hasn’t exhibited in Turkey before – as one of the Young British Artists, Quinn’s poetic sculptures, paintings and drawings have earned him the tag of one of the leading artists of his generation since he came to prominence in the early 1990s. What isn’t a surprise is that ARTER is hosting Quinn’s first solo show – if any art institution was going to step up to the plate, it would be ARTER which consistently shocks and delights with its impressive exhibitions.
The exhibition is spread over four floors with each floor designed as sort of its own exhibition. Quinn worked closely with the curator Selen Ansen to select the pieces, which mostly comprise his newer works with one to two older pieces. ‘What I do looks very different, but the themes are continuous,’ say Quinn of his oeuvre, which examines our relationship with ourselves, our bodies, nature and the world.
On the ground floor, we are greeted by a massive sculpture of a shell (main image). In fact, it is so big and sparkly that it pulls you in from the street. The sculpture was made by scanning a real shell with the ‘biggest 3D printer in the world’, says Quinn. It was printed as a three-metre sheet of plastic and took three months to form into shape. Then, Quinn sprayed-painted the back bronze and the front gold. By taking something so wondrous from nature as a shell, Quinn is questioning whether art is created from the world of the artist or whether artists are discovering the art already present in the world.
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‘Flesh Painting (On a Homeopathic Diet)’, 2013, oil on canvas, 279 x 419 cm, photo: Todd-White Art Photography, courtesy of Marc Quinn Studio
My favourite pieces on this floor are two paintings from the ‘Flesh Painting’ series (2012–ongoing). Seen from afar, you could be forgiven for thinking that you are looking at flowers or a detailed tapestry, but in fact in these works, Quinn captures both the beautiful and grotesque nature of raw meat. The artist is undoubtedly influenced by Dutch still lifes, drawing our attention to the details: the fat and the deep red of the veins become abstracted as they are so magnified. It is as visceral and powerful as art gets.
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‘Held by Desire (Square Root)’, 2014, exhibition view, photo: Murat Germen, courtesy of the artist and ARTER
Quinn became fascinated with bonsai trees when he first saw them at a garden show in England. ‘Bonsai trees are all about the human desire to control nature. By making the bonsai tree bigger, it is as if this control goes out of control. It is nature coming back to get us,’ says Quinn of the above piece which was made using 3D technology. ‘I believe 3D scanning and printing will have an effect on sculpture in the same way that photography had on painting in the 20th century. You couldn’t make such a detailed sculpture of a bonsai tree before – you would have run the risk of making a pastiche of it,’ says Quinn. But with 3D technology, codes like DNA are fed into a machine and an exact replica of the object – only smaller or bigger – comes out. ‘It is a technological version of a biological reproduction,’ he says.
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‘Chelsea Charms’, 2010, Bianco P marble, 169.5 x 59 x 52 cm, photo: Roger Wooldridge, courtesy of White Cube
On the first floor, most of the works examine our relationship with our bodies. There are six white marble sculptures, five of which come from a series of sculptures of amputees that Quinn began in 1999. These sculptures use Greek and Roman statuary and their depictions of an idealised whole to celebrate different kinds of beauty. If a fragmented body is considered to be art, then it should be accepted in real life as well. But I particularly like the above sculpture of American model Chelsea Charms who has had multiple breast surgeries. Exploring modern society’s obsession with the human body, Quinn brings elements from classical sculpture – Chelsea’s hair wisps around her neck and the drapery hangs loosely off her hips – and combines it with an example of a today’s ludicrous beauty standards.
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‘Where the Worlds Meets the Mind’, 2012, oil on canvas, diameter: 200 cm, photo: Todd-White Art Photography, courtesy of Marc Quinn Studio
The above painting shows the inside of an eye at the retina – a tiny layer of tissue which is responsible for filtering all the beauty and horror of the world.
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‘Self’, 2011, blood (artist's), stainless steel, perspex and refrigeration equipment, 208 x 63 x 63 cm, photo: Prudence Cuming Associates, courtesy of Marc Quinn Studio
Quinn created his first ‘Self’ sculpture in 1991 but the one displayed at ARTER is a newer version made in 2011. Quinn went to the doctor for one year who took out a pint of blood each time. When Quinn had enough blood, he poured it into a mould he made of his own head and froze it. It is kept in a special box that allows it to be seen, but if you unplug the box or there is a power cut, the sculpture becomes a pool of blood. ‘It is a self-portrait of life in a way because it is dependent on something and if you unplug that something, it disappears,’ says Quinn.
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‘The Creation of History Series’, 2012–2014, exhibition view, photo: Murat Germen, courtesy of the artist and ARTER
On the second floor, tapestries showing images from protests are carefully arranged on the floor. The idea for this series started with the riots in London in 2011. Quinn scanned a photo from the riots onto a tapestry. He then continued doing the same with other riots and protests from all over the world. ‘I like the idea of something that is meant to be warm and comforting having an image of disruption, change and discomfort,’ he says. ‘They are also like flying carpets – they transport imagination and history. These days history is created by people coming together like threads in a tapestry, rather than a singular people deciding to do something.’
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‘Life Breathes the Breath (The Road)’, 2012, orbital-sanded and flap-wheeled lacquered bronze, 74 x 68 x 74 cm, photo: Ben Westoby, courtesy of White Cube
Also on the second floor are two life-like bronze sculptures. The above depicts a hooded young woman sitting cross-legged and holding a skull in her hands. Based on the Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán painting of a monk, this figure is a pilgrim from the streets contemplating her own mortality.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
‘Matter Into Light: Energy is Neither Created Nor Destroyed in the Universe’, 2011, heat treated colbalt-plated bronze, concrete, stainless steel, cement board, ceramic and bioethanol liquid, 181.5 x 151 x 151 cm, photo: Steve White, courtesy of White Cube
When you come up to the third floor, an even stronger feeling of death envelops. The two ‘Matter Into Light’ sculptures – one called ‘Energy is Neither Created nor Destroyed in the Universe’ and the other ‘On the Transformation of Energy’ – are eerie to say the least. Set in a dark space, the bronze figures are depicted in serene yogi poses despite being engulfed by flames – an examination of the continuous state of creation and destruction in the world.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
‘Mirage’, 2009, patinated bronze, 228 x 145 x 56 cm, photo: Todd-White Art Photography, courtesy of Marc Quinn Studio
The most compelling work for me is the above sculpture. Immediately, Goya’s ‘Disasters of War’ images are called to mind. The life-size bronze figure references a famous image of a prisoner in Abu Ghraib during the Iraq War and brings the audience face to face with the darker side of contemporary society.
The exhibition runs until April 27, 2014.
Main image is of the work ‘The Origin of the World (Classis Madagascariensis)’, 2012. Photo: Murat Germen. Courtesy of the artist and ARTER.
It is surprising that Marc Quinn hasn’t exhibited in Turkey before – as one of the Young British Artists, Quinn’s poetic sculptures, paintings and drawings have earned him the tag of one of the leading artists of his generation since he came to prominence in the early 1990s. What isn’t a surprise is that ARTER is hosting Quinn’s first solo show – if any art institution was going to step up to the plate, it would be ARTER which consistently shocks and delights with its impressive exhibitions.
The exhibition is spread over four floors with each floor designed as sort of its own exhibition. Quinn worked closely with the curator Selen Ansen to select the pieces, which mostly comprise his newer works with one to two older pieces. ‘What I do looks very different, but the themes are continuous,’ say Quinn of his oeuvre, which examines our relationship with ourselves, our bodies, nature and the world.
On the ground floor, we are greeted by a massive sculpture of a shell (main image). In fact, it is so big and sparkly that it pulls you in from the street. The sculpture was made by scanning a real shell with the ‘biggest 3D printer in the world’, says Quinn. It was printed as a three-metre sheet of plastic and took three months to form into shape. Then, Quinn sprayed-painted the back bronze and the front gold. By taking something so wondrous from nature as a shell, Quinn is questioning whether art is created from the world of the artist or whether artists are discovering the art already present in the world.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
‘Flesh Painting (On a Homeopathic Diet)’, 2013, oil on canvas, 279 x 419 cm, photo: Todd-White Art Photography, courtesy of Marc Quinn Studio
My favourite pieces on this floor are two paintings from the ‘Flesh Painting’ series (2012–ongoing). Seen from afar, you could be forgiven for thinking that you are looking at flowers or a detailed tapestry, but in fact in these works, Quinn captures both the beautiful and grotesque nature of raw meat. The artist is undoubtedly influenced by Dutch still lifes, drawing our attention to the details: the fat and the deep red of the veins become abstracted as they are so magnified. It is as visceral and powerful as art gets.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
‘Held by Desire (Square Root)’, 2014, exhibition view, photo: Murat Germen, courtesy of the artist and ARTER
Quinn became fascinated with bonsai trees when he first saw them at a garden show in England. ‘Bonsai trees are all about the human desire to control nature. By making the bonsai tree bigger, it is as if this control goes out of control. It is nature coming back to get us,’ says Quinn of the above piece which was made using 3D technology. ‘I believe 3D scanning and printing will have an effect on sculpture in the same way that photography had on painting in the 20th century. You couldn’t make such a detailed sculpture of a bonsai tree before – you would have run the risk of making a pastiche of it,’ says Quinn. But with 3D technology, codes like DNA are fed into a machine and an exact replica of the object – only smaller or bigger – comes out. ‘It is a technological version of a biological reproduction,’ he says.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
‘Chelsea Charms’, 2010, Bianco P marble, 169.5 x 59 x 52 cm, photo: Roger Wooldridge, courtesy of White Cube
On the first floor, most of the works examine our relationship with our bodies. There are six white marble sculptures, five of which come from a series of sculptures of amputees that Quinn began in 1999. These sculptures use Greek and Roman statuary and their depictions of an idealised whole to celebrate different kinds of beauty. If a fragmented body is considered to be art, then it should be accepted in real life as well. But I particularly like the above sculpture of American model Chelsea Charms who has had multiple breast surgeries. Exploring modern society’s obsession with the human body, Quinn brings elements from classical sculpture – Chelsea’s hair wisps around her neck and the drapery hangs loosely off her hips – and combines it with an example of a today’s ludicrous beauty standards.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
‘Where the Worlds Meets the Mind’, 2012, oil on canvas, diameter: 200 cm, photo: Todd-White Art Photography, courtesy of Marc Quinn Studio
The above painting shows the inside of an eye at the retina – a tiny layer of tissue which is responsible for filtering all the beauty and horror of the world.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
‘Self’, 2011, blood (artist's), stainless steel, perspex and refrigeration equipment, 208 x 63 x 63 cm, photo: Prudence Cuming Associates, courtesy of Marc Quinn Studio
Quinn created his first ‘Self’ sculpture in 1991 but the one displayed at ARTER is a newer version made in 2011. Quinn went to the doctor for one year who took out a pint of blood each time. When Quinn had enough blood, he poured it into a mould he made of his own head and froze it. It is kept in a special box that allows it to be seen, but if you unplug the box or there is a power cut, the sculpture becomes a pool of blood. ‘It is a self-portrait of life in a way because it is dependent on something and if you unplug that something, it disappears,’ says Quinn.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
‘The Creation of History Series’, 2012–2014, exhibition view, photo: Murat Germen, courtesy of the artist and ARTER
On the second floor, tapestries showing images from protests are carefully arranged on the floor. The idea for this series started with the riots in London in 2011. Quinn scanned a photo from the riots onto a tapestry. He then continued doing the same with other riots and protests from all over the world. ‘I like the idea of something that is meant to be warm and comforting having an image of disruption, change and discomfort,’ he says. ‘They are also like flying carpets – they transport imagination and history. These days history is created by people coming together like threads in a tapestry, rather than a singular people deciding to do something.’
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
‘Life Breathes the Breath (The Road)’, 2012, orbital-sanded and flap-wheeled lacquered bronze, 74 x 68 x 74 cm, photo: Ben Westoby, courtesy of White Cube
Also on the second floor are two life-like bronze sculptures. The above depicts a hooded young woman sitting cross-legged and holding a skull in her hands. Based on the Spanish painter Francisco de Zurbarán painting of a monk, this figure is a pilgrim from the streets contemplating her own mortality.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
‘Matter Into Light: Energy is Neither Created Nor Destroyed in the Universe’, 2011, heat treated colbalt-plated bronze, concrete, stainless steel, cement board, ceramic and bioethanol liquid, 181.5 x 151 x 151 cm, photo: Steve White, courtesy of White Cube
When you come up to the third floor, an even stronger feeling of death envelops. The two ‘Matter Into Light’ sculptures – one called ‘Energy is Neither Created nor Destroyed in the Universe’ and the other ‘On the Transformation of Energy’ – are eerie to say the least. Set in a dark space, the bronze figures are depicted in serene yogi poses despite being engulfed by flames – an examination of the continuous state of creation and destruction in the world.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
‘Mirage’, 2009, patinated bronze, 228 x 145 x 56 cm, photo: Todd-White Art Photography, courtesy of Marc Quinn Studio
The most compelling work for me is the above sculpture. Immediately, Goya’s ‘Disasters of War’ images are called to mind. The life-size bronze figure references a famous image of a prisoner in Abu Ghraib during the Iraq War and brings the audience face to face with the darker side of contemporary society.
The exhibition runs until April 27, 2014.
Main image is of the work ‘The Origin of the World (Classis Madagascariensis)’, 2012. Photo: Murat Germen. Courtesy of the artist and ARTER.
This week we are in Karaköy for the second part of our two-part Karaköy/Tophane gallery walk. Karaköy is pretty much synonymous with the words ‘Istanbul art scene’ – the neighbourhood has come out of obscurity in the last ten years and, largely thanks to the opening of Istanbul Modern, has flourished into a laidback, bohemian area with plenty to satisfy any culture fiend (above image).
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Gökce Er, ‘Riotous’, 2014, oil on canvas, 163 x 95 cm
GÖKCE ER’S THE THINGS THEMSELVES
Let’s start on Mumhane Caddesi, which runs parallel to the main drag Kemeraltı Caddesi on which the tram runs. At No 67, the cutting-edge artSümer is hosting the solo exhibition of the Turkish artist Gökce Er, who explores introverted psychological states, the collective consciousness and the perception of reality in her oeuvre. The title of the exhibition, The Things Themselves, is borrowed from the German philosopher Edmund Husserl’s slogan ‘Let’s return to the things themselves’ and the abstract, darkly coloured works are explicitly emotive. Prices range from TL3,000 to TL15,000.
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Gökce Er, ‘Ironic Fate’, 2014, oil on canvas, 140 x 130 cm
The artist’s favourite work is the above piece entitled ‘Ironic Fate’.
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Pedro Reyes, ‘Los Mutantes’, 2012, 170 frames at 24.3 x 17.9 x 3 cm each, coloured pencil on printed paper
WHO SHALL DELIVER US FROM THE GREEKS AND THE ROMANS?
On the parallel narrow street, Ali Paşa Değirmeni Sokak, on which a new eatery or bar seems to open every week, you will find the exceptional Galeri Mana at No 16. The gallery is hosting a compelling group exhibition entitled Who Shall Deliver Us from the Greeks and the Romans? The gallery’s director, Arzu Komili Bastas, particularly likes Pedro Reyes’ installation (above) and two embroideries by Francesco Vezzoli (below). Daniel Silver’s marble sculptures, Matthew Monahan’s painting and Adrian Paci’s latest film The Column are among some of the other highlights. Prices range from €3,500 to €70,000.
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Francesco Vezzoli, ‘Emperor Caligula Crying Francis Bacon's Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion’, 2014, laserprint on canvas, paper, metallic embroidery, 63 x 49 x 10 cm
The exhibition was curated by the Italian curator Cristiana Perrella who says: ‘As I come from Rome, I was, for a very long time, strongly reacting to the idea of antiquity and history, considering it as an obstacle to the achievement of contemporary culture in my country. Working on this exhibition helped me reconsider this feeling; it was like an exorcism, a therapy.’
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Civan Özkanoğlu, 021, ‘In Person’, 2012, 57 x 70 cm, Ed 1/5+1AP, €1,500
CIVAN ÖZKANOĞLU’S IN PERSON
A few minutes’ walk down the street will get you to the photography gallery Elipsis, which is hosting the solo show of the Turkish artist Civan Özkanoğlu, entitled In Person. Prices range from €800 to €2,250.
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Civan Özkanoğlu, 039, ‘In Person’, 2012, 28.5 x 35 cm, Ed 1/51+AP, €800
‘I would generalise the progress of my work over the last five years as a shift from random outside places to more personal, intimate narratives. The works at Elipsis represent destitute places, objects, positions or people that I constantly and obsessively keep visiting with or without my camera,’ says the artist.
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IT SOUNDS LIKE ART
Jane Grant and John Matthias, ‘Fathom’, 2013, filmed by Neil Grant, photo by Guy Harris
Navigate through the backstreets back onto Kemeraltı Caddesi and head west. When you come to the hustle and bustle of Karaköy Square, take a steep right onto Bankalar Caddesi. At No 2, Sabancı University’s downtown arts and culture centre, Kasa Galeri, is hosting a group exhibition entitled It Sounds Like Art. ‘I think this exhibition is one of the most open-to-interpretation exhibition we have ever had. Even the depressing works give me some sort of calmness,’ says the institution’s Events Manager, Çağlar Cetin.
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Music for Installations (MFI), ‘Dark Sofa in Istanbul: An Emotional Translation of Depression’, 2014
Commenting on their piece at the exhibition (above), the artist group MFI says: ‘One of the main concepts of our project is to dedicate a room to the full experience of soundscapes. ‘Dark Side’ elaborates on this theme by inviting visitors to sit in a cosy chair, which puts them at ease. This contrast with the dark soundscapes that are heard. The work is an evocation of the difficult emotional state of depression. By making the visitor stop and listen, we are want to open this subject up for debate.’
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Rabih Mroué, ‘Old House’, 2006, video
RABIH MROUÉ
Down the street at No 11, SALT Galata is hosting a comprehensive exhibition of the renowned Lebanese artist Rabih Mroué. SALT decided to exhibit this artist when it was approached by Centro de Arte dos de Mayo, who co-produced this same exhibition in Madrid. ‘Rabih Mroué is a major artist whose works go beyond the specific locale of their origin and resonate globally, and are able to communicate the importance of analysing visual production at times of social and political conflict, which have many parallels to Turkey today,’ says SALT’s Programs and Research Manager, Duygu Demir.
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Rabih Mroué, ‘The Pixelated Revolution’, 2012, video
‘My favourite work is the video Old House (above top), which greets the visitors at the entrance of the exhibition at SALT Galata. The work deals with the history of the Lebanese Civil War through a simple gesture which looks at how an individual deals traumatic experiences. I recommend viewers to pay close attention to Mroué’s personal family account in the installation Grandfather, Father and Son, as well as the visually stimulating installation The Mediterranean Sea. At SALT Beyoğlu, the video Pixelated Revolution (above bottom) is a must see for those interested in the Syrian Revolution,’ says Demir.
All images courtesy of respective galleries, except the main image which is from the Karabatak café website.
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Key: Blue – artSümer, Red – Galeri Mana, Green – Elipsis, Yellow – Kasa Galeri, Purple – SALT Galata
Hawick, a town of 15,000 souls deep in the Scottish Borders, is not exactly the place you’d expect to encounter the street dogs of Istanbul. But for the last year the German director Andrea Luka Zimmerman has been doggedly touring her film, Taşkafa: Stories of the Street – in which they take the starring role – since it showed at the Istanbul Film Festival in 2013. She brought it to the tiny Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival in Hawick, which took place at the beginning of this month, and screened it two days later in Bristol in England. After multiple screenings in both Germany and Britain, she’s shortly showing it at the Taipei Film Festival in Taiwan, but wants to take it even further afield.
The fascination of writers and artists with the street dogs of Istanbul are as old as the city’s attempts to control them, by means fair and foul. ‘And sleeping happily, comfortably, serenely, among the hurrying feet, are the famed dogs of Constantinople,’ Mark Twain famously wrote, ‘though I never saw such utterly wretched, starving, sad-visaged, broken-hearted looking curs in my life’.
In 2010 the animated film, Barking Island, created a stir when it won the Palme d’Or for best short film at the 2010 Cannes International Film Festival for director Serge Avedikian, inspired by the early 19th century round-up that saw an estimated 80,000 dogs shipped to the deserted island of Hayırsız. Last year’s Istanbul Biennial saw a soulful piece, I am the dog that was always here, a video film loop by the Swedish artist Annika Eriksson, when the dogs wax sad and philosophical about efforts to banish them to woodlands on the outskirts of the city.
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Still from ‘Taşkafa: Stories of the Street’
Filmed over three years, Taşkafa ‘is really not as such about the dogs but about the relationship of human beings with other kind of creatures in an urban environment,’ said Zimmerman. With a nostalgic soundtrack and readings by John Berger from his novel King, it won strong reviews in Istanbul and at the London Film Festival. It explores how Istanbul residents, and shop and street workers share the care of the city’s canine population from Galata to the Princes’ Islands. It was produced by Gülen Güler, one of Turkey’s foremost documentary and fiction filmmakers who has worked with the artist Kutluğ Ataman.
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Stills from ‘What It Is To Want It’
The Alchemy festival in Hawick, once one of Britain’s wealthiest Victorian towns and still famous for its much-dwindled cashmere industry, is testimony to doing a lot with very little. On a budget of just £30,000, with a theme of ‘Dreamlands’ this year, director Richard Ashrowan skilfully picked from more than 600 entries of feature films, video art and installations; the festival is focussed firmly on the intersection of art and film. They would like more Turkish work. It was the installations that made the festival for me, particularly What It Is To Want It, a powerful film project that juxtaposes readings from 17th-century Scottish religious texts with images of murky woodscapes and animal carcasses.
Taşkafa features an impromptu protest at the end of the film against proposals to ship thousands of dogs to forest areas. ‘In Istanbul you have this complex and ambiguous relationship between dogs and the human population,’ Zimmerman said. The dogs have long been famous in the city’s history and subject to numerous academic studies, some suggesting they operate better in protecting doorways than CCTV cameras.
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Still from ‘Taşkafa: Stories of the Street’
Zimmerman hopes to take her film to countries beyond Western Europe where dogs remain in cities, particularly India. ‘In Romania there are a lot of street dogs,’ she said. ‘In Moscow there are the famous dogs that travel by tube. In Mexico there are a lot of street animals, they are more or less looked after.’ The film has also raised the issue of the care of other animals, and even birds; in her Bristol showing, Zimmerman found herself fielding questions on why people in UK, famously a nation of animal-lovers, didn’t seem to like pigeons.
Click here to read Robin Thomson's review of Theodosia, a film about Crimea that also screened as part of Alchemy.
Main image is a still from ‘Taşkafa: Stories of the Street’
The Millî Reasürans Gallery in Maçka is hosting an exhibition of gorgeous photographs by the Turkish artist Hasan Deniz until April 26.
‘These photographs are the memories of my life,’ says Deniz. ‘They are always taken spontaneously.’ With his work, Deniz strives to achieve a sense of timelessness and spacelessness – the photographs are not given any titles so the viewer cannot make any direct references. All the viewer is left with is a sense of the artist’s personal journey and his mood. The photographs are devoid of people and capture places and objects exactly as they are. Deniz prefers his photographs to have flaws and never cleans them up in post-production. He, like many artists, sees beauty in imperfection. The exhibition is accompanied by a catalogue featuring a poetic prose by the Turkish writer Murat Gülsoy.
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The exhibition takes its title from a boat restaurant – I won’t reveal where, but you can guess – called Alte Liebe and the photo of it (above) hangs, fittingly, at the entrance. Of course, the title has a deeper significance and the notion of ‘Alte Liebe’ (‘Old Love’) is one that appears in many branches of arts from literature to painting to cinema to music. ‘Objects reminiscent of an old love lead the way. A murmuring, a vague rhythm, a hint of someone that dares to supplant reality through incessant repetition,’ writes Gülsoy.
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Deniz prefers black-and-white photography but in this exhibition, he has interspersed a colour photograph every now and then amongst all the monochrome. This was done purposively so the viewer doesn’t lose focus if consistently looking at the same thing. One of my favourite black-and-white images is the above showing handbags in cages against a backdrop of what looks like a church. Most likely a reflection of a shop front, the photo juxtaposes things that don’t usually go together yet is completely natural.
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One beautifully composed colour photograph is the above, which was taken from a rooftop bar. Seen from far back, the bottles meld into the buildings, but come closer and you will see the image for what it really is.
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The artist likes photographing is cemeteries and the smaller room at the gallery is devoted to photos either of cemeteries or places that evoke similar feelings. The above photo underlines the feeling of surreal tranquillity universally experienced at cemeteries.
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Deniz says one of his main objectives when taking photos is to bring out the simplicity in a situation or an object. Take the above photo, for instance – even though it captures a rubbish bin, a not terribly exciting thing, the photograph possesses an understated beauty.
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Another of the artist’s favourite ‘simple’ photos is the above. I particularly like the geometry of the photo – the bus station smack bang in the middle of nowhere is reminiscent of an abstract painting. The feeling is just as dreamlike and almost eerie.
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The theme continues with the above photo. ‘This photo is so basic,’ says Deniz. ‘It could be from any period or geography.’
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Deniz’s perspective on the Atatürk Cultural Centre in Taksim shows it from the back. This photo differs from the others in the exhibition as it is not about the artist’s personal memory, but about ‘our collective memory’.
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I also love the originality of the above photo. Deniz took it from inside a contemporary sculpture so the letters part of the sculpture act as a sort of frame for the people in the centre, evoking the feeling of a family holiday snap.
We have a chock-a-block gallery walk this week exploring Nişantaşı. Besides perusing the galleries on the two main streets of Mim Kemal Öke Caddesi and Abdi Ipekçi Caddesi, we will also venture further afield. As one of the first neighbourhoods to have commercial art galleries, Nişantaşı has a lot to offer.
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Ali Ibrahim Öcal, ‘Hand Knows 82.5’, 8,489, rose thorns on paper, 2014
ALI IBRAHIM ÖCAL’S HEAVEN
Let’s start on Mim Kemal Öke Caddesi, where the cosy Merkur Gallery at No 12 is hosting the latest solo show from the multi-disciplinary Turkish artist Ali Ibrahim Öcal. Merkur’s director, Sabiha Kurtulmuş, says she was following Öcal’s work even when Daire gallery was still representing him. ‘When I look at the details of his animal images, I am met with cryptic messages about death and life,’ she says. Heaven displays new works, and the use of thorns and lashes gives the images a kitsch style. Prices range from TL13,000 to TL19,000.
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Ali Ibrahim Öcal, ‘Eyes See 110’ 2014, acrylic on paper
The artist says his own favourite work is ‘Hand Knows’ (above top), which is made from 8,489 rose thorns. It was the first work produced for the exhibition and, he says, ‘gave it its soul’. The work’s spiral shape reveals the esoteric, intrapersonal character of the artist – a reflection on the meditative state. Another favourite, complementing 'Hand Knows', is ‘Eye Sees' (above).
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Marc Quinn, ‘Hyde Park Gardens’, 2010
MARC QUINN AT PORTAKAL
Next, pop into the auction house Portakal at No 8 to marvel at three of the British artist Marc Quinn’s magnificent ‘Flower’ paintings and two gold jewellery pieces. Please enquire directly with Portakal for prices.
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Mark Francis, ‘Altair’, 2013, acrylic and oil on canvas, 66 x 53 cm
MARK FRANCIS’ THE EVIDENCE OF ABSENCE
Parallel on Abdi Ipekçi Caddesi, the consistently good Dirimart at No 7 has another renowned international artist for us to feast on – the Irish painter Mark Francis. ‘We’ve been collaborating with Francis for over a year,' says the gallery’s director, Doğa Oktem. 'The Evidence of Absence is his first solo show in Turkey and it was very exciting for us to make this happen.’ Prices range from £25,000 to £45,000.
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Mark Francis, ‘Emission’, 2014, acrylic and oil on canvas, 214 x 83cm
‘I am dealing with the idea that all things are connected,’ says Francis, who believes there is a harmony in the universe. He looks for it in cells, human organs, funghi, roots, mycelium; in the stars, in sounds, in all the energy of nature that science can reveal. The resulting works are unpretentious yet abstract, colourful pieces that are quite uplifting.
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Monika Piorkowska’s ‘Art and Recycling’ installation view
MONIKA PIORKOWSKA'S ART AND RECYCLING
Further down the street, the seasoned Kare Gallery at No 22 is hosting an installation exhibition by the Polish artist, Monika Piorkowska. ‘I thought it would be interesting to exhibit Piorkowska’s works as they question value systems within the art market and the contemporary world,’ says the gallery’s director, Fatma Saka, of the exhibition aptly titled Art and Recycling. Prices from €1,500 to €15,000.
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Monika Piorkowska’s ‘Art and Recycling’ installation view
Asked about the concept behind the exhibition, the artist says it relates to the connections between the human existence and the process of collection. ‘Society is easily manipulated. In this tightly networked world in which the art market is strongly affected by capitalism, is the role of contemporary art to make visible what society is happy to overlook? My exhibition aims to ignite a discussion about the philosophical/economical concept of "use and throw away".'
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Murat Kösemen
Next door, the newer gallery Linart is in its last week of exhibiting the emerging talent Murat Kösemen. In Volume 1, Kösemen uses play dough and plasticine to create images of everyday life. ‘We first displayed Kösemen’s works at Contemporary Istanbul 2013,' says Linart. 'The works are original, and the artist's use of materials to create almost 3D pictures is very creative.’ Prices range from $2,000 to $6,000.
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Murat Kösemen
The above images are two of the artist’s favourites from the show.
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Erkut Terliksiz, ‘Days of Summer, 2014, mixed media on paper, 70 x 49.5 cm
ERKUT TERLIKSIZ’S HUNGER
Even further down, x-ist, in the basement of Kaşıkçıoğlu Apartment at No 42, is in its last week of hosting the Turkish artist, Erkut Terliksiz. In Hunger, Terliksiz weaves narratives and brings our dreams and nightmares to life in his imaginative, abstract and often grotesque paintings. Contact the gallery for prices.
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Hasan Deniz
HASAN DENIZ’S ALTE LIEBE
Make your way to the parallel Teşvikiye Caddesi through the narrow Atiye Sokak, filled to the brim with appetising cafes and chic bars. The monument to Hüsrev Gerede stands not so imposingly at the intersection, and down Maçka Caddesi slightly to the right is the not-for-profit art space Milli Reasürans Gallery, which is hosting an exhibition of gorgeous photographs by the Turkish artist Hasan Deniz entitled Alte Liebe. ‘Two years ago we had Deniz’s photographs in a group exhibition and discovered the quality of his work,’ says the gallery’s co-director, Ayşe Gür. Prices depend on the size of the print: 50 x75 cm prints are TL2,500, and 45x45 cm or 40x53 cm prints are TL1,750. See our blog for more on 'Alte Liebe'.
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Hasan Deniz
Asked to pick his favourite works, Deniz selected the black-and-white image of a cemetery (above top). ‘To me, it encompasses the history of art – the sculpture, the natural environment and the emptiness all contribute to this. It is five minutes from civilisation yet it is out of civilisation; it is abandoned,’ he says. Another favourite is a colour photograph of a basketball court (above bottom). ‘It is hopeful,’ Deniz states.
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Süleyman Saim Tekcan, oil painting, 53 x 53cm
SÜLEYMAN SAIM TEKCAN’S SOUNDING HORSES
Back on Teşvikiye Caddesi at No 6, the Feyziye Mektepleri Foundation’s art space Galeri Işık is hosting the veteran Turkish artist Süleyman Saim Tekcan. The artist has been using the imagery of the horse in his multi-disciplinary practice since the 1990s and this exhibition, aptly entitled Sounding Horses, explores just that.
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Süleyman Saim Tekcan, wood sculpture, 64 x 55 x 12cm
The exhibition’s organiser, Müge Ilgen, says of the artist: ‘Tekcan’s art is unique because he makes use of various cultural components of Anatolian civilisations, and of Seljuk and Ottoman art. What he is doing can be seen as a kind of “sensory archaeology”.’ Prices range from $500 to $800 for glass sculptures, $2,000 to $30,000 for bronze sculptures and $15,000 to $100,000 for oil paintings.
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Derrick Santini, ‘Suki versus Suki’, 2010, lenticular lightbox, 120 x 90cm, edition of 5
SO FAR SODA
Make your way down the perpendicular Osman F Seden Sokak. Then turn left down the second street you come across, Şakayık Sokak, and at No 37 the contemporary art and design space SODA is exhibiting a group exhibition, SoFarSoda, featuring three artists: Derrick Santini, Frank Plant and Diederick Kraaijeveld.
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Diederick Kraaijeveld, ‘Steve’, 2012, 104 x 75cm, originally coloured salvaged wood
The gallery has previously exhibited each of these artists separately but decided to combine them this time since all three comment on popular culture in their work. ‘Lifestyle and fashion scenes, as well as portraits of famous people mark the artists’ oeuvres,’ says the gallery. Prices range between €3,000 EUR and €15,000.
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Froso Papdimitriou, Until When the Silence’
BETWEEN THE LINES
Further afield, the veteran Mine Art Gallery, hidden in an apartment building on Prof Dr Müfide Küley Sokak, is hosting a group exhibition in which artists working in different disciplines present works engaging in a dialogue about interpreting art between the lines. Prices range from TL10,000 to TL35,000.
All images, except the main image, courtesy of the respective galleries. Main image courtesy of mydestination.com.
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Key: Blue with dot – Merkur, Red with dot – Portakal, Green with dot – Dirimart, Turquoise with dot – Kare Gallery, Yellow with dot – Linart, Purple with dot – x-ist, Magenta with dot – Milli Reasürans Gallery, Blue – Galeri Işık, Red – SODA, Green – Mine Art Gallery
A good thing to keep in the back of the mind is the Turkish Cultural Foundation’s (TCF) fellowship programme. There are two types: the Fellowship in Turkish Culture and Art and the Cultural Exchange Fellowship.
The TCF Fellowship in Turkish Culture and Art has provided funding to young and established scholars since 2008. Amounts of up to USD$ 2,000 are awarded for papers on Turkish cultural and social studies accepted for publication in peer-reviewed journals or for participation in national and international meetings on Turkish art or cultural and social studies, or for contributions made to a conference or workshop. These fellowships are intended for those who are enrolled in a graduate program or who have an equivalent record of professional accomplishment and publications. There is no deadline – applications are accepted all throughout the year. Please visit the website for instructions on sending in your aplication.
Established in 2012, the TCF Cultural Exchange Fellowship aims to support international exchanges between artists, as well as professionals working in fields related to the arts and culture. Amounts of $1,000 are given to support event participation or collaborations and amounts of $2,000 are given to support residencies. Individuals who work professionally in the fields of traditional arts, cultural relations, visual arts and new media, film and video arts, conservation, restoration, museum management and curatorial services, literary arts, music, dance, theatre and performance arts and culinary arts are invited to submit applications. The first-term fellowships for this year have been awarded to 7 individuals and applications for the second term will be accepted until June 2, 2014. Please visit the website for instructins on sending in your application.
The Sydney landscape painter Idris Murphy has won the Gallipoli Art Prize this year for his touching painting inspired by the letters his grandfather, a soldier in the First World War, wrote to the woman who would become Murphy’s grandmother. The painting, ‘Gallipoli Evening 2013’ (above), depicts a solitary tree against a rich golden backdrop of Gallipoli’s crumbling cliffs.
Murphy first had the idea for the painting when he came across a treasure trove of 160 love letters written by his grandfather, Charles Idris Pike, from battlefields including Gallipoli, Passchendaele and the Somme. They were addressed to Violet, a young woman from Sydney. According to Australian media, the letters are filled with brutal and graphic descriptions of the war, but they also tell of a truce that occurred between Australian and Turkish soldiers. ‘Only a few yards separates us from the Turks,’ reads one of the letters. Another records: ‘We threw some tinned bully and jam over to them and they soon raked them into their trenches. And in return they threw tobacco and cigarette papers.’
Murphy was awarded a prize of $20,000 for the painting, whose title, he says, is a metaphor for ‘the melancholy of walking on bones against the surprise of Gallipoli being so beautiful’. This Anzac Day he made the journey to Gallipoli again, along with some of Australia’s other top artists, to paint more works for a centenary exhibition entitled My Friend the Enemy.
Thirty-seven finalists were selected from a total of 166 entries (the most the prize has ever received) from Australian, New Zealand and Turkish artists. The prize was established to reward the work that best exemplifies the Gallipoli virtues of ‘mateship, respect, loyalty and comradeship’. Next year – to mark the 10th anniversary of the prize and the 100th of the Gallipoli Campaign – it will be awarded for the last time.
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Highly commended was Glen Preece’s work ‘Soldier – Flight to Heaven’ (above).
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Also commended was Hugh Ramag for ‘R.E. as a Digger’ (above).
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The finalists’ works are highly imaginative and span many different styles and moods. I particularly like Ben Tankard’s ‘Impossible Object’ (above).
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Alison Mackay’s ‘Battlefields’ is a poignant depiction of the trivialisation of war – toy soldiers stuck in glass jars.
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The lack of colour in Max Berry’s ‘Reprieve’ gives it an almost caricaturist edge and is quietly effective.
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In a different vein, Hadyn Wilson’s ‘Gallipoli Patches’ is a colourful portrayal of a soldier’s honour.
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The most Turkish offering is Daniel Pilipczyk’s ‘The Atatürk Aniti’ (above).
The winner’s and finalists’ paintings are on display at the Gallipoli Memorial Club (sponsor of the Prize) in Sydney until May 4, 2014.
All images from The Australian. Photos by Sowerby Smith.
Be sure to check out this exhibition, on until June 8, curated by Osman Köker, publisher of an interesting collection of photograph books about the Ottoman minorities. The show is located in a new gallery space above the Nostalji Culture Bookshop in the back streets of Pangaltı, close to the Osmanbey metro. On display are postcards of Antakya, Iskenderun and Samandağ from the early 20th century from the collection of Orlando Carlo Calumeno. Some highlights include historical architecture – shops, churches, panoramic views – just recognisable as the modern cities in Hatay, as well as the startling images of refugee camps, eerily prescient of today's situation.
We are in Beşiktaş for our gallery walk this week. Don’t let this humble neighbourhood fool you – many of its galleries are very, very good. A wonderful group show and some interesting solo shows, all but one from female artists, await you.
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Çağrı Saray, ‘Need a Saviour’, 2013, sculpture, 220 x 80 x 50 cm
RUPTURES AND CONVERGENCES
Let’s start in Akaretler, a two-pronged street of townhouses built at the end of the 19th century to accommodate palace servants. These were given a facelift in 2008, bringing with it a plethora of chic new boutiques, trendy eateries and art galleries. A five-minute walk up the hill (Süleyman Seba Caddesi) will get you to one of the neighbourhood’s finest, Kuad Gallery, which will open the first in a two-part group exhibition this Friday (May 2). Ruptures and Convergences comes within the scope of the anniversary celebrations marking 600 years of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Poland. ‘Here the title not only refers to the fact that historical relations between Turkey and Poland have endured complex conflicts, but also to the character of the art being produced today, which is based on retroactive expostulations and prospective proposals,’ says the gallery’s artistic director, Beral Medra.
Displaying photography, video and paintings from 32 Turkish and Polish artists, this exhibition promises to be first-rate. Asked to pick some of her favourites, Medra says: ‘I will make a feminist discrimination and say that I appreciate the works by the female artists in these exhibitions.’ Among many others, these include the Turkish performance artist Nezaket Ekici, the emerging Turkish visual artist Sümer Sayın, the veteran Polish artist Karolina Freino and the Polish artist Agnieszka Polska, who deconstructs materials. Prices range between €3,000 and €10,000.
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Burcu Perçin, ‘Untitled’, 2010, oil on canvas, 220 x 170 cm
BURCU PERÇIN’S MOUNTAINS HAVE NO OWNERS
Make your way to the lower of the two Akaretler streets, Şair Nedim Caddesi. Art on Istanbul at No 4 is hosting the ninth solo show of the Turkish painter Burcu Perçin, entitled Mountains Have no Owners. ‘With every new work, Perçin manages to surprise her audience. She always adds something new to her art and it is a great pleasure to watch her grow,’ says the gallery’s manager, Erzen Ezen.
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Burcu Perçin, ‘Untitled’, 2014, oil on canvas, 240 x 170 cm
‘My favourite is this painting,’ she says of the one above. ‘The subject of this exhibition is the construction of mines and quarries which ravage mountains, all for the gain of private companies. I love the visuals and layers in this piece. It is portraying a dolorous scene yet it is captivating at the same time.' Prices range from TL1,500 to TL6,000.
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Fatma Sağ Tunçalp, ‘Untitled’, 2014, ceramic, 50 x 30 x 14 cm
FATMA SAĞ TUNÇALP’S THE BOILER ROOM
A few doors down at No 16, ART350 is hosting a solo exhibition of the Turkish artist Fatma Sağ Tunçalp. The exhibition takes place in parallel with the artist’s main exhibition, Cage, at ART350’s Erenköy branch (on the Asian side). For the Beşiktaş branch Tunçalp has created an installation of 7,000 life-size ceramic bugs in an exhibition entitled The Boiler Room. ‘What we like about Tunçalp is that she combines ceramics with contemporary art. The subject matter of her works is very interesting, too,’ says the gallery’s director, Binnaz Gül Yeter.
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Fatma Sağ Tunçalp, ‘Untitled’, 2014, ceramic, detail
Asked to pick her favourite works, Tunçalp says the final works she created just before the exhibition opened are ‘stranger than the other works and evoke different feelings’. One such is the above life-sized ceramic bug. The detail is brilliant.
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Ahmet Oran, Untitled, 2014, oil on canvas, 160 x 140 cm
AHMET ORAN
Stay on the same side and at Rampa’s main 900-metre exhibition space at No 20, you will find Ahmet Oran’s colourful paintings adorning its bare walls. After a four-year hiatus, Oran is back with new paintings, but the exhibition also introduces some of his earlier work. His unique practice of layering canvases to produce a ripped effect results in an arresting visual language. Please enquire directly with the gallery for prices.
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‘Infamous Library’ installation view
IŞIL EĞRIKAVUK’S INFAMOUS LIBRARY
Across the road at No 21, Rampa’s second space presents a multi-media exhibition of the innovative Turkish artist Işıl Eğrikavuk. Infamous Library takes its name from the artist’s video work, which she produced in 2006. The site-specific installation above was created specially for the exhibition, but also being screen is her video recounting the story of the 1980 kidnap of 12 people who were kept in a library for two years. Please enquire directly with the gallery for prices.
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Nihal Martlı, ‘She’s Not You (Elvis)’, 2009, oil on canvas, 154 x 154 cm
NIHAL MARTLI’S I WALK THE LINE
Next door, C.A.M. Galeri will open the latest exhibition of the Turkish artist Nihal Martlı, one of the first artists on the gallery’s roster, this Friday (May 2). In I Walk the Line, Martlı presents pin-up-inspired paintings in which she questions the representation of the female body. ‘My favourite is the portrait of Elvis Presley,’ says the gallery’s director, Melek Gencer of the painting above. ‘It reminds us of a nostalgic era and fits perfectly with the pin-up girls. The artist rarely depicts men in her paintings, and if she does, they are either painted from the back or she just paints their hands or feet, and we never see their faces clearly. Therefore, it is significant to have a male face in Martlı’s show.’ Prices range from TL6,500 to TL18,000.
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Nihal Martlı, ‘Summer Wind’, 2014, oil on canvas, 160 x 175 cm
The artist’s own favourite is the one above.
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Nurdan Likos, ‘Water Fairy’, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 175 x 145 cm
NURDAN LIKOS’ FREE FALL
Galeri Ilayda is located on the outskirts of Beşiktaş, in Teşvikiye – follow Şair Nedim Caddesi for a few hundred yards and turn left up the steep Hüsrev Gerede Caddesi, a one-way street coming down the hill. The gallery is in its last week of hosting Nurdan Likos’ second solo show, Free Fall. Says the gallery’s owner, Ilayda Babacan: ‘In her first solo show, she based the works on her own story to explore sins of women, but in this exhibition, she tackles other women’s stories.’ Prices range from TL6,000 to TL25,000. Babacan says her favourite is the one above, because it tells her story.
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Nurdan Likos, ‘Don’t Cry Mum, It Doesn’t Hurt’, 2013, acrylic on canvas, 180 x150 cm
‘In this exhibition, I am playing with reality and different perceptions – reality touches perception during its free fall,' says Likos. 'I am a storyteller. In each of my canvases, the story is unique to the figure in the painting.’
All images, except main image, courtesy of the respective galleries. Main image from www.geocaching.com.
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Key: Blue – Kuad Gallery, Red – Art ON, Green – Art350, Light Blue – Rampa, Yellow – C.A.M. Galeri, Purple – Galeri Ilayda
Yesterday was International Jazz Day and to celebrate we have a new jazz CD available from the Cornucopia store.
The renowned guitarist Önder Foçan has been playing jazz since 1975 and has been the artistic director of Nardis Jazz Club since 2002. In 2012, he recorded his latest album, Songbook, with the silky-voiced Meltem Ege, who is a regular on the Turkish jazz circuit and regularly performs at Nardis herself. The accompanying band on the recording is also very good and consists of Şenova Ülker (trumpet), Ozan Musluoğlu (bass), Bulut Gülen (tambourine) and Ferit Odman (drums).
The repertoire consists of Foçan’s arrangements of jazz standards with his own vocal and instrumental compositions, in his signature mellow style. Bill Milkowski from Jazz Times USA describes Foçan’s style as ‘warm-toned, richly ornamental’ and reminiscent of ‘Kenny Burrell and Larry Coryell, swung tastefully and insistently’.
There are 12 tracks on the album, perfect for an afternoon of easy listening. To get a taster, visit this page. To buy the CD, visit the Corncuopia store.
Below is a video for one of the tracks, ‘Bu Ada’.
Main image shows the entire band performing at the Nardis Jazz Club.
There are three very worthy exhibitions currently on at Borusan Contemporary in the Bosphorus neighbourhood of Rumelihisarı. The handsome red building, the Perili Köşk, or the ‘Haunted Mansion’ has a rich history which dates back to the 1910s. It underwent an extensive renovation in the late 1990s and is only open as an arts centre on weekends – the view from the rooftop is reason enough to visit.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
John Gerrard, ‘Infinite Freedom Exercise (near Abadan, Iran)’, 2011
On the second floor, the English artist John Gerrard’s exhibition is an exercise in simulations. Aptly titled Exercise, the innovative multi-media artist offers us ‘portraits of this world through the prism of its own technological medium,’ as described by Robin Mackay from Urbanomic, an arts organisation based in the UK. The five works on display have all been developed using a sophisticated method blending various technologies including images captured from real bodies, satellite data, photography, 3D scanning and motion picture. The results are brilliantly executed works exploring the violence of technology – whether in entertainment, industry or warfare. The above work shows a simulated figure dressed in army fatigues performing a series of gestures in a computer-generated version of a landscape found in southern Iran. The image keeps moving – day turns into night, summer to into winter, but yet the figure never stops performing his exercises.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Marco Brambilla, ‘Evolution (Megaplex)’, 2010
Magnificent 3D-video collages by the Italian artist Marco Brambilla can be seen on the fourth floor in an exhibition entitled Megaplex Trilogy. You hear the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev’s dramatic score ‘Montagues and Capulets’ (Dance of the Knights) long before you enter the almost pitch black room – the cinema. Upon entry, you are given 3D glasses and are faced with three works – Creation (2012), Evolution (2010) and Civilisation (2008). Created with ground-breaking 3D technology, one video moves fluidly across, one down and one in a vortex, each showing characters and scenes from hundreds of films, from classics such as The Sound of Music to modern blockbusters such as Jurassic Park to cult favourites like A Clockwork Orange. The artist describes his works as a ‘kind of pop version of subliminal film memory’. Film buffs and film novices alike will be impressed.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Ivan Navarro, ‘EXODO’, 2008, 61 x 122cm, neon, plywood, mirror
The third exhibition is in a very different vein. Instead of being in a dedicated space, the exhibition is spread over the building’s entire ten floors, with most of the works hanging or standing in the office areas (the building is corporate on weekdays). Entitled Common Ground: Earth, the exhibition aims to showcase selected works from Borusan Contemporary’s rich collection. Paintings, installations and ‘media arts’ (that is works incorporating time, light, technology, video and software) from over 50 artists are displayed – both Turkish and international, heavyweights and new talent. The exhibition is the first in a series of three that will explore the concepts of earth, water and air. As the title suggests, this exhibition deals with Earth, bringing together works that refer to it as an aesthetic medium, conceptual process or the reality in which we live. The links between the artworks and the subject, I have to say, are tenuous, but that is to be expected. Earth is a grand theme.
Image may be NSFW. Clik here to view.
Eelco Brand, ‘X.movi’, 2012, Ed. 1/6
The French designer-cum-installation artist Thierry Dreyfus has made a unique piece that greets audiences at the entrance and can only be seen after sunset. The German-born, New York-based artist Markus Linnenbrink’s colourful paintings adorn the walls – gravity responsible for the pattern of thin rivulets running down the canvas. One of Sarkis’ neon light creations is also on display. Six oil paintings by the late Turkish landscape painter Necdet Kalay show impressionistic scenes of Anatolia. The Chilean artist Iván Navarro’s installation (above top) deals with the idea of motion and geometry – and pushes the limits of neon lights. Several ‘digital paintings’ by the Dutch artist Eelco Brand are displayed, each exploring a different aspect of nature. The American post-minimalist artist Keith Sonnier has painted stripes on the walls of the eight-floor meeting room. Meanwhile, two abstract sculptures and spatial intervention greet audiences on the roof, including the Swiss artist Beat Zoderer’s colourful ball (main image). The view from the roof is just as awe-inspiring as the art.
Hats off to Borusan for trying something different and exhibiting the works in such a way – it is interesting and the employees must love working with all that gorgeous art on display. But as an exhibition, it is difficult to take it all in comprehensively, as you are constantly moving from floor to floor, office to office. I recommend a tour, which is available in both Turkish and English, and lasts up to one hour.
The exhibitions run until June 1, 2014.
Main image shows Beat Zoderer’s ‘Patch Ball No. 3’, 2009, 153cm diameter, acrylic on aluminium.
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