ceren oykut
ceren oykut
Mayom İçimde*
*with bells on
The title of Ceren Oykut’s “Mayom İçimde”(with bells on) exhibition takes its name not only from the feeling of unease created by standing upon the shores of the Bosphorus unable to swim, but also the desire to let go whenever she sees the tiniest speck of life in this cage of a city that is Istanbul. The exhibition consists of spectacular cross sections of Istanbul as Oykut attempts to make sense of the city by drawing it; an Istanbul, which is changing, re-cycling, breaking, collapsing, crushing and is crushed, tired and tiresome. Oykut says “I am trying to create an image of Istanbul by piling buildings and stones on top of each other. I am attempting to illustrate this pile which still hasn’t managed to implode but is trying to sustain itself, constantly apprehensive and alert but at the same time detached, walking a tightrope.”
The Bosphorus where everyone goes for a breath of air for Oykut means many things: Waiting upon the shores of a narrow strait where she is unable to swim despite having her swimsuit on under her clothes, strong currents, getting carried away, jelly fish, bacteria, and Galatasaray Island which has evolved from hosting the late 19th century Russian painter Aivazovsky, to becoming a coal depot, to currently being one of the most extravagant and “in” places. “Instead of getting a bird’s eye view of the city available to us from sky scrapers, I tried to look at the city from the places where I belong; at sea level. Thus Istanbul rose and metamorphosed into a canyon. Inevitably I began to construct a future where buildings and spaces have been affected by consecutive earthquakes thus losing all their purpose”.
During the preparatory stages of the “Mayom İçimde”(with bells on) exhibition Oykut also illustrated a children’s book by Barış Pirhasan about the love between a cat who seeks refuge in the Ottoman Court and the Sultan. This commission came as a welcome diversion during the preparation of the exhibition. And thus a few of these illustrations are also included within the hustle and bustle of this exhibition to create a breath of fresh air among the gas bombs and siren sounds.
Oykut wanders around her city, Istanbul. When viewed from the outside although she seems insistent on the present, the mood, which determines the geography, is neither the past, nor the future, but merely time itself. Because when she looks at the viaducts, traffic lights, the islets of flowers in the middle of roundabouts, among them she can also see grazing sheep, bee hives, undiscovered archaic ruins and farmers swimming on their land. The “Mayom İçimde”(with bells on) exhibition translates this unsettling feeling into an unknown language.
Çiğdem Öztürk
Mayom İçimde*
*with bells on
The title of Ceren Oykut’s “Mayom İçimde”(with bells on) exhibition takes its name not only from the feeling of unease created by standing upon the shores of the Bosphorus unable to swim, but also the desire to let go whenever she sees the tiniest speck of life in this cage of a city that is Istanbul. The exhibition consists of spectacular cross sections of Istanbul as Oykut attempts to make sense of the city by drawing it; an Istanbul, which is changing, re-cycling, breaking, collapsing, crushing and is crushed, tired and tiresome. Oykut says “I am trying to create an image of Istanbul by piling buildings and stones on top of each other. I am attempting to illustrate this pile which still hasn’t managed to implode but is trying to sustain itself, constantly apprehensive and alert but at the same time detached, walking a tightrope.”
The Bosphorus where everyone goes for a breath of air for Oykut means many things: Waiting upon the shores of a narrow strait where she is unable to swim despite having her swimsuit on under her clothes, strong currents, getting carried away, jelly fish, bacteria, and Galatasaray Island which has evolved from hosting the late 19th century Russian painter Aivazovsky, to becoming a coal depot, to currently being one of the most extravagant and “in” places. “Instead of getting a bird’s eye view of the city available to us from sky scrapers, I tried to look at the city from the places where I belong; at sea level. Thus Istanbul rose and metamorphosed into a canyon. Inevitably I began to construct a future where buildings and spaces have been affected by consecutive earthquakes thus losing all their purpose”.
During the preparatory stages of the “Mayom İçimde”(with bells on) exhibition Oykut also illustrated a children’s book by Barış Pirhasan about the love between a cat who seeks refuge in the Ottoman Court and the Sultan. This commission came as a welcome diversion during the preparation of the exhibition. And thus a few of these illustrations are also included within the hustle and bustle of this exhibition to create a breath of fresh air among the gas bombs and siren sounds.
Oykut wanders around her city, Istanbul. When viewed from the outside although she seems insistent on the present, the mood, which determines the geography, is neither the past, nor the future, but merely time itself. Because when she looks at the viaducts, traffic lights, the islets of flowers in the middle of roundabouts, among them she can also see grazing sheep, bee hives, undiscovered archaic ruins and farmers swimming on their land. The “Mayom İçimde”(with bells on) exhibition translates this unsettling feeling into an unknown language.
Çiğdem Öztürk