Istanbul's Hidden Rooftop Exhibitions
When you step out of the metro station in Maslak, you see business towers all around. If you decide to look a bit closer, you see Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art surrounded by sculptures in the middle of very high towers. Elgiz Museum organized this year’s Terrace Exhibitions < 40 with the support of the Guggenheim International Directors Council.
This year’s sculptures contain many different topics from hope to social anxieties. We spoke with Grazia de Colle from the exhibition team about the variety of topics and she said “We don’t have a specific topic or a theme in our minds when we’re selecting the pieces. We could say that it is a coincidence that most of the pieces are on current issues because we work with contemporary artists and they want to use current issues in their work.”
“Exhibition opportunity for young artists”
Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Arts was founded in 2001 to become a support platform for young artists and curators. When we asked Grazia de Colle the question "Why did you decide to do this exhibition only for sculptors under the age of 40?" her answer was "To create an exhibition opportunity for young artists"
"We notice all universities about our exhibition, they send us their applications and our board gives the final decision. Each year the number of pieces, the quality and the attention rises. We get applications from all around Turkey. This year we have pieces from Erzurum, Ankara, Mersin and one from Italy." (ENU/BM)
Journey of Young Sculptors
| Ramazan Duymaz: "Don't create anything, sit still" |
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"The patriarchal structure in our community is a huge disadvantage for young artists. Since we were little kids we hear things like "Don't create anything, sit still." Such beliefs show us the lack of innovativeness in our community and that pursues the inefficiencies. I truly believe that there should be no barriers in front of freedom of expression and thought." “I question the source of understanding in today's social institutions with my piece "Violence against Women" If we want to build a lawful social structure we have to overcome the male dominance. If the patriarchal structure demolishes and if we could build a new family structure women could also have a say in social institutions and in community life." Piece: Violance against Women |
| Hande Şekerciler: Surrealistic reality |
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“When I'm creating my sculptures I take nourishment from life. I'm not interested in the reality that exists, the reality I see interests me more." "Sadly, since last year we're living in a surrealistic reality which is greater than my imagination. So in this chaos, I try to see what people do for the ideas and beliefs they are dedicated to without considering what side they are on or what they think." "I am shocked and terrified most of the time. The primitivism and savageness in the clothing of civilization puzzles me." Piece: Deep in my Heart |
| Mahmut Aydın: Potential of Human |
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I hid some parts of the woman sculpture's face and body and left out the other parts open. With that, I wanted to show that a human could only be slightly controlled with rules and every human being has the potential to show its power without any fear." Piece: Under the covers |
| “Monument in public spaces, objects in galleries” |
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Şenay Ulusoy: “In Turkey the art of sculpting hasn’t gone out of being a monument in public spaces and objects in galleries. Now, with the policies our government has sculptures are consi dered as idols and are trying to overthrown.” Halil Daşkesen: “Young artists in Turkey have the anxiety to support oneself and unemployment. This prevents them to create their pieces freely. I believe the first step to overcome this problem is to give government support to artists and create an environment for arts.” Esra Sağlık: “The biggest disadvantage of young artists in Turkey is the economical one. It affects the imagination and creation. The other disadvantage is cultural and political structure, it doesn't fit in with the independence of arts. Academicians are mostly conservative and aren't open to new creations.” Pieces: Red Line – Pratyahara – Phobia “Fascinated by the space dedicated to the exhibition” Giorgia Razetta: The decision to participate to the exhibition is two-fold; I am personally very attached to Istanbul, a city where I lived for 5 months and that gave me a lot, both as a life experience and as a place so fascinating and wonderful. Being a young artist just starting out, having the opportunity to exhibit my work in a high quality museum gave me a really great personal and professional satisfaction. Piece: Swimmer |
* Click here to read the article in Turkish.
