Sefer Memisoglu

Isimsiz – untitled, 2005, Dvd, 6’

Sefer Memisoglu goes through the notions of small historisations and fragmentary identities; brings out visual aspects of the activities that are taken from our immediate vicinity and everyday environment: the activities that are creating their own logic, poetry, or development of events. His video work Untitled evolves around the well-known specificities and abstracted visualizations of street kids –the children who are living on streets-, are given with close-ups, manipulations and a new character, but at the same time remain recognizable. The phenomenon of living on streets, being in the constant longing or of lacking are brought together under the pitoresque element of Istanbul: the Galata Tower. Galata Tower has been hosting the children under its premises, before the area got to be gentrified. Throughout the work, not only the constructed is put to test but also the familiar background phenomena are reconsidered, revived, reactivated, and re-deployed.

Isil Egrikavuk

Infamous Library, 2006, Dvd, 7’40“

Isil Egrikavuk takes the invisible, the hidden, the secured into consideration and displays through an interview with one of the protagonists of a specific event. The story that took place in an infamous library of the state which was erected at the time of a social crisis is an attempt to recover the unseen of the past, the infra-structure of power relations and their projection onto the society. As underlined in the piece, such a hideous event can take place or is taking place in any context, any society. The man who was taken from his house and imprisoned for two years in the archive of the state to function for the bringing out inner relations among society, is telling his story through the interrogation of the interviewer. The black outs used frequently throughout the film function as gaps for the audience to question and evaluate the truth of the story, its validity and to project on their personal backgrounds.

Ali Demirel

W..., 2001, Dvd, 6’15“

Ali Demirel works with video and visualisation of large-scale electronic music events. Demirel uses repetition as the pattern of his video works, the polarization effect onto the images work as underlining the every small move, step, meaning production of a movement, speech, act. W... is a piece produced just after 9/11 took place in New York. The work being produced six years ago still carries its contemporariness and significance. The war the attempts or committing crimes are underlined through repetition of the speech hold by W. Bush about the war that already took place. The comment made in the past brought up to the present of 2001 implying the fact that the war is not over at all. Only the geographical positioning of cold war is due to change. The images appearing as cut out clips of actual news are displayed in a fragmented state as the sound is structured to imply the veining effect.

Canan Senol

Bir bardak sicak sekerli su – A Glass of hot water with sugar, 2002, Dvd, 22’40“

Canan Senol works with various mediums as video, installation, photography and performance. A glass of hot water with sugar is a documentary on the prisoners who have resisted the decision of F-type prisons thus started the protest fasting-till-death. Senol realises the documentary with four prisoners who are in the operation titled Back to life. Back to life is a project held with the survivors of the fasting protest, which is placing them in a house for six months till they are cured. Four prisoners namely Ismail, Esma, Metin and Hulya are suffering from the Wernicke Korsakov illness due to the fact that during their protest they have taken only a glass of water with sugar as nutrition. Wernicke Korsakov, is a result of long-time-starvation and causes problems of seeing, hearing, walking also memory. Thus, if the central nerve system of the person is damaged, his/her memory will be malfunctioning and he/she will be in full need of help from outside. The very important fact is Wernicke Korsakov illness cannot be cured and the damage cannot be replaced, thus the four prisoners are imprisoned not only in a place but also in their childhood structures. The F-type prison phenomenon is a strongly discussed issue and has been collecting reactions from various people, societies, and countries.

Asli Cavusoglu

Bir Turk Doktoru: Omer Ayhan – A Turkish Doctor: Omer Ayhan, 2004, Dvd, 11’

A Turkish Doctor Omer Ayhan by Asli Cavusoglu is a pseudo-documentary on a Turkish doctor who found the cure for the illness called Nortonomy. The video starts with clipping from one of the main tv channels in Turkey. Starting with the logo of the tv channel and announcement of the speaker who mentions Omer Ayhan as the pride of the whole nation, the narrative is a constructed one with strong aspects of insuring the audience that it has actually taken place. Cavusoglu depicts a narrative that is always focussed to be gained by societies. The projection of these internationalised achievements of a member of a society is a highly valued representation. Thus the intellect, achievement and influence on others are strong elements in putting the societies together.

Ozlem Gunyol & Mustafa Kunt

Section 1, 2005, Dvd, 4’44“

Ozlem Gunyol & Mustafa Kunt are recapturing scenes from a movie by Zeki Demirkubuz, titled Itiraf. The dialogue taken from the scenes of a break up of a young couple is fully taken in Section 1. Unlike the film, Gunyol and Kunt are showing the scene through the gap of the kitchen door. The camera is stable whereas the actors are restaging the tension in a different way than the film. The audience as the witness of such a dialogue are being taken in the scene and are left to take sides and produce understanding for each of the actors, artists. The artists who stage the dialogue as themselves with their real names and with a condition that raises a high tension at the doorstep of a break up. The camera situated on a voyeur position, is witnessing the dialogue through the door. Re-enacting a scene from a movie, plays a crucial role in order to reflect the fact that such dialogues and destruction to each other are taking place on an every day basis.

Erinc Seymen

Master Mick, 2005, Dvd, 9’56“

Erinc Seymen’s Master Mick is a documentary on an S&M master called Master Mick. The documentary shot in Master Mick’s flat is a split screen production. While listening to the interview, the audience goes around the house and investigates the details. The setting of the bedroom, the tools of sexual intercourse are highly expressive in order to understand the practices of Master Mick. Seymen questions how to be a master and what does he do for a living, and investigates the realms of being a slave and being enslaved by a master and where joussiance is located in those practices.