Titled “Işığa Karşı Oyun” (Game Against the Light), the show is based on the concept of throwing found objects, or fragments of objects, into the air toward the sun or some other source of light and allowing the audience to watch as they reach the highest level, stop for a moment, and descend while casting images in the form of shadows.The objects used in the show include “a piece of rope, another one longer and thinner, a couple of pebbles, a sunflower and detached petals, a broken part of an old toy, a little sand, a mother's stolen buttons, a mother's pins, a few broken kitchen tools, a piece of bruised paper, fishbone, grandma's ripped unfinished knitting.”
In an interview with Today's Zaman, the San Francisco-based artist says that even if he does not like to create his exhibitions around a single concept, he chose to do so with this show because he felt very close to the subject due to his memories of this game he used to play when he was a child.
Duran's works bring together illustrations, graphic design and photography. “The reason I use mixed media is that anything within your reach turns into a material this way,” the 27-year-old artist explains. He is also the director of two short movies that received FWA and Crystal Apple awards two years in a row. “My first short movie, ‘Son Güne Ağıt' [Requiem for the Last Day], was shot in İstanbul three years ago. It was a very enjoyable experience. I have always enjoyed being engaged with cinema. In the near future I will work on a few more new short film projects,” he says, adding that receiving rewards following such intense and enjoyable periods of work is very pleasing. “I hope we will produce other international works in coming years,” he concludes.
A graduate of the Dokuz Eylül University faculty of graphic design, Duran says the primary influence that shaped his artistic path was his time at the Anatolian Fine Arts High School. “Graphic design is another aspect of my life. During the second half of the previous century, media reached a flexible point that enabled design to become a part of every moment and to reach everywhere in our daily lives. It was very nice and useful to explore this medium, and it affected my artistic path, as well,” he says.
Duran has showcased exhibitions in Turkey, Hungary and the US. Initiated by the New York-based Turkish Culture and Arts institution Moons and Stars Project, his current show will run through Nov. 26. For more information, visit www.moonandstarsproject.org and www.anilduran.com.
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