Sky-high amid the skyscrapers of Istanbul’s corporate centre Maslak, you can find an unexpected attraction that must definitely be visited. Proje4L presents Terrace Exhibitions <40 at the Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art, the large scale gallery with over 1500 m2 of open air space is nestled amongst the strong winds of Ayazaga Maslak, which makes for a fascinatingly absorbing experience.
This is the third year of the Terrace Exhibitions <40, with thirty-two selected sculptor’s works this year, and some artists at this exhibition have been selected for the third time in a row. Visitors will be welcomed with a visual feast, because unlike typical indoor galleries, you are able to view the works in a natural, everyday habitat, which means that sunlight, shadows and clouds make for different characteristics at each hour.
The artists featured at the exhibition include Ahmet Özparlak, Ali Alizadeh, Aycan Güler, Ayşe Sultan Babayiğit, Bahadır Çolak, Bestami Gerekli, Caner Şengünalp, Çağdaş Erçelik, Çayan Yılmaz, Derya Özparlak, Esra Sağlık, Giorgia Razzetta, Güray Morgül, Güzin Merve Özgören, Hakan Bakır, Hakan Çınar, Halil Daşkesen, Hande Şekerciler, İmdat Avcı, Kutlu Alican Düzel, Mahmut Aydın, Meliha Sözeri, Nihan Gündüzalp Ölmez, Orkide Akkoç Sabit, Ramazan Duymaz, Saim Cem Arıkan, Şenay Ulusoy, Tanzer Arığ, Tuğberk Selçuk, Turgay Topçu, Uğur Hasekin and Ümit Turgay Durgun.
The exhibition will be on show until August the 23rd. For more information, visit www.elgizmuseum.org.
I have chosen five of my favourite sculptures from the exhibition and interviewed the artists that created these works of art. These pieces really struck me, as they are not only very powerful in delivering meaning and message, but also very well constructed.
Uğur Hasekin (Zaman/Time)
What inspired you to do this piece?
What made me create this piece was thinking about how time passes very quickly and intolerably, and even if just for a moment one needs to pause.
Which artists/sculptors inspire you?
Only the great master Michelangelo.
Do you see a definite relationship between nature & your work?
I do not think there is anything one can completely separate from nature. Everything today derives from nature and are things inspired by nature.
Are there any obstacles you face in exhibiting at the Terrace Exhibitions <40 exhibition because it is outside?
No, because I believe that the work created must adhere to the general rule of tough conditions.
What do you try to express in your work?
In my work I try to express the effect time has on humanity, humanity’s search for a solution to the constant of time.
What mediums do you work with & why?
I makes models and then work with strong casting materials. I do not have a preference to just one material.
How do you find the Terrace Exhibitions <40 exhibition?
I believe that the Terrace Exhibitions <40 exhibition is very important for us artists, I thank the museum again for embracing us and gratuitously bringing us together with art lovers.
Ramazan Duymaz (Kadina Siddet/Violence to Women)
What inspired you to do this piece?
To continue my own freedom and existence.
Which artists/sculptors inspire you?
Kuzgun Acar with his works and the story of his life, is one of the most important artists to inspire me.
Do you see a definite relationship between nature & your work?
Definitely nature, life and what I live through always play the main roles for me when creating my works.
Are there any obstacles you face in exhibiting at the Terrace Exhibitions <40 exhibition because it is outside?
No, I am attending an outdoor exhibition for the first time and I find it to be a wonderful exhibition.
What mediums do you work with & why?
Generally, I choose the material according to the design and what I would like to express.
How do you find the Terrace Exhibitions <40 exhibition?
The managers and team of this very valuable institution support art and artists indefinitely. Grazia de Colle from the museum team especially is an important testament to how valuable this institution is. I thank her for her patience and interest.
Kutlu Alican Düzel (Monadlar/Monads)
What inspired you to do this piece?
I believe the visual structures that influence my life create the visuality of my works. The idea of the Monad is significant, such that it is the answer to the quintessential question. These atomic units are closed to the outside and have only come together due to inner purposes. In this work, the concept of the Monad has been characterized by questioning the subjects of space and identity.
Do you see a definite relationship between nature & your work?
If we consider nature as an existence of its own then no.
Are there any obstacles you face in exhibiting at the Terrace <40 exhibition because it is outside?
No, the exhibited piece was specifically designed according to the space at the Elgiz Museum.
What materials do you work with & why?
When making sculpture, I find that restricting oneself to material restricts one’s expression. If the content of a piece/work is justly represented in the material, I believe the most appropriate material has been chosen.
How do you find the Terrace Exhibitions <40 exhibition?
I find it to be very successful in creating visual knowledge. The professional approach of this exhibition is one that stands out on its own.
Güzin Merve Özgören (Tellibaba)
What inspired you to do this piece?
The characters who live in my dreams, live in separate stories. The natural and spiritual life we cannot attain and have become deprived of affects us all. This is the manifestation of the tropics, the ebbs and flows and storms I live through. I wanted to show people what they cannot expect inside themselves. It is a little uncomfortable.
Which artists/sculptors inspire you?
Those who carry the balance of all within; primitive, progressive and disturbed artists who use material as a means to create, not as the aim.
Do you see a definite relationship between nature & your work?
If there were no relationship, this piece would not have come into being.
Are there any obstacles you face in exhibiting at the Terrace <40 exhibition because it is outside?
No, quite the opposite; it has been a great trial and experience for the both of us.
What do you try to express in your work?
Keeping oneself closed up and not expressing one’s feelings. The captivity one experiences without realising it being there.
What mediums do you work with & why?
Generally, metal, wood and leather. It shows variety according to the (exhibition) space, the materials I have at hand and the materials I can find around me.
How do you find the Terrace <40 exhibition?
I believe it is a successful exhibition, varying and effective works have come together.
Meliha Sözeri (Seffaf Demokrasi/Transparent Democracy)
What inspired you to do this piece?
In the context of the works I am working on, I first established the conceptual framework. The limitations of this conceptual framework are based on politics, policy, democracy and transparency. This generated the starting point.
Which artists/sculptors inspire you?
İlhan Koman, Şadi Çalık, Mona Hatoum, Anish Kapoor, Marc Quinn, Ai Weiwei, Joseph Beuys … Of course, these names may increase as one goes along… It is possible for every artist to take inspiration from another perspective. The artist’s lifestyle may give inspiration, another artist’s approach to (the) space, another’s relationship to concept and form…
Do you see a definite relationship between nature & your work?
With “nature” we can to one degree, begin discussing history, because the power which created history is a societal one and nature cannot be separated from this power. History is significant in terms of socialized history. Nature integrates with society’s concepts of new generations like a systematic machine. This perspective will make us need to focus on the dynamics of a new nature. In this respect, the work, which is created inside of this new nature, cannot be evaluated outside of this relationship.
Are there any obstacles you face in exhibiting at the Terrace <40 exhibition because it is outside?
I used a material that is visibly transparent and one that can be lithed. I wanted to show the limitations of this material on the Elgiz Museum’s open-air terrace. This work was made realised according to conditions of the open-air.
What do you try to express in your work?
Nowadays, democracy occurs in an extremely paradoxical manner. In today’s system of democracy, our bodies are being taken by sovereign impositions. There are cliffs between given indicators and the spoken word. In this cliff, individuals try to find the reality of life, by holding on to pillars of daily life that look like reality. The transparency of democracy, its movement in terms of audit and being open to critique, and the daily movements of our bodies in the same space are violently incompatible. Within this incompatibility, soft folds that wrap our bodies are increasingly tied to the strong material of democracy.
Which materials do you work with & why?
Stone, bronze, metal, stainless steel wire netting, plexiglass… Actually I do not make a great distinction between materials because I choose the material that complies with the conceptual framework I have set.
How do you find the Terrace <40 exhibition?
I believe that the Terrace Exhibitions <40 exhibition is a correct one, from the point of view that: sculptors resist to open-air conditions, are able to use a space where visitors come together to view their work, as well as being an indicator of the sustainability of sculpture in Turkey.
*Thank you to Grazia de Colle for her help in translating and answering my many questions. *
Mira Xavnur Balic is a contributor for Yabangee.
