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Exhibit at Depo art space confronts the ‘given’
The show, on view at the Depo art space in the Tophane quarter, is actually the second -- and more comprehensive -- leg of an exhibition that was put on display in October in Vienna, featuring artwork by Turkish contemporary artist Esra Ersen, Bucharest-born German-based conceptual artist Daniel Knorr and Brussels-based Austrian photographer Aglaia Konrad.
“In exploring new ways of thinking about the multiplicity of subject-positions, we are interested in how this might offer the possibility of a ‘new’ space,” co-curator Seidl says about the Depo exhibition, where the works of 12 artists are being shown.
The show delves into the “geopolitical implications of what governs the walls separating the former divide between the East and West,” Bal adds.
Attempting to provide an answer to the question of how “given” situations are “manifested within the realm of creative practice and brought into the spaces of art,” well-known Turkish contemporary artist Nevin Aladağ’s video “Mezzanine” (“Hochparterre”), features a spoken portrait of the Grosse Bergstrasse in the Altona district of Hamburg, through a recording of the voices of its residents discussing their living conditions and experiences.
Another highlight of the show is a video by Spanish artist Santiago Sierra that shows 10 Iraqi men and women being sprayed with polyurethane -- a poisonous liquid plastic that hardens quickly on contact with air. Sierra uses polyurethane as a metaphor for the combination of defense and aggression that motivated the invasion of Iraq, the curators explain.
The show, while trying to come up with novel ideas and alternative ways to cope with given situations, also triggers numerous questions through the works on display.
In a video by Czech artist Zbynek Baladran, a confrontation between the Communist Manifesto and the utopian ideas of functionalist architect Karel Honzik can be seen while Swiss artist-theorist Ursula Biemann explores the logic behind refugee camps as one of the oldest extraterritorial zones in her work titled “X-Mission.”
Ersen, who took part in the Vienna exhibition with a video called “Brothers & Sisters,” this time offers a piece called “Which One You Choose,” confronting gender-specific positioning in the specific contexts of Turkey and Japan.
Marina Grzinic and Aina Smid offer a video that presents a conceptual political space of engagement that allows for rethinking what local community is.
A video by Konrad, which was also showcased in the Vienna exhibition, focuses on cities such as Cairo and Alexandria under the Anwar el-Sadat administration. “Her way of seeing things is unadorned and draws our attention straight to the history of the real setting. The photographs show the application of ‘modernist’ principles to architectural development in desert landscapes,” Bal explains.
“No Ifs, No Buts” will run through Jan. 9, 2011, at the Depo art space, located at Lüleci Hendek Caddesi, No: 12 in Tophane. For more information: www.depoistanbul.net.
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