erdal duman

erdal duman

.artSümer is pleased to host Erdal Duman's fifth solo exhibition at the gallery. As its very name signifies, "something's not right" consists of his most recent works questioning the world order. Duman draws attention to the inconceivable distortions of the course of events based on the oddities he defines as "reverse".

According to Duman, the values accepted as true and agreed upon by society in the post-truth era are problematic and need to be questioned one by one. The artist argues that there is a contradiction between what is displayed and what is actually experienced and this difference causes the issue. He questions how sustainable it can be to have the human desire to survive on one hand (i.e., the pandemic measures, developed technologies, medicine) and hunger for destruction (i.e., wars) on the other.

Duman suggests that the concept of reverse, which emerges in different forms as a metaphor, is perhaps our last chance to correct our perspective in present times; against a loss of reality. It promises the audience a new perspective on the future of the world through its proposition of “turning the world upside down”.

Born in 1976 in Germany, Erdal Duman obtained his BFA in Sculpture in 2002 at Hacettepe University in Ankara, and completed his MFA at the same institution in 2006. In 2011 he opened his first solo show, Ammunition at artSümer. Selected shows include Dry Summer (curated by Melike Bayık), Eldem Art Space, Eskişehir (2022); O!, Galeri Nev, Ankara (2022); Silver Loop, Evliyagil Dolapdere, Istanbul (2021); Neither Flat Nor Round: The World is a Cylinder (solo) artSümer, Istanbul (2019); Winter is Coming, Merdiven Art Space, Istanbul (2019); The Clandestine Life of Objects (curated by Beral Madra) Evliyagil Dolapdere, Istanbul (2019); First Round (curated by Hakan Çarmıklı), Galata Greek Primary School, Istanbul (2018); Casus Belli (duo) artSümer, Istanbul (2017); Grace Under Pressure (solo) artSümer, Istanbul (2014); Zeit (Lose) Zeihen, Kunstlerhaus, Wien (2012) and Abbara Kadabra, Mardin Biennial (curated by Fırat Arapoğlu, Nazlı Gürlek and Derya Yücel) (2010). He is a founding member of the contemporary art initiative Yaygara in Ankara where he currently lives and works.