Seats x Istanbul 17. Biennial
IKSV's 17th Istanbul Biennial aims to construct a medium that is connecting its audience to different artists and their long-processed projects, journeys, experiments and conversations that were eventually reflected to their art. Rather than showcasing a finished product or products, the 17th Istanbul Biennial offers an insight into the worlds of these various collective groups from all around the world to remind us that there is always another way to think, to do, to make, to show and to share.
I have visited several sites that were curated under the 17th Istanbul Biennial, and I have decided to reflect my personal experience on what I felt, saw and envisioned as I visited the sites. I have chosen 'chairs' or 'seats' as something concrete and solid which is opposing the abstract, intangible and semantic nature of the Biennial sites. The chairs I drew became the embodiment of the experience I got from the sites by their decoration, environment that surrounds them, their material and their durability that I assigned them as I draw.
All drawings were made with pencil on 90 gr ivory A4 paper.
IKSV's Biennial official web site:
0 - Before the Biennials
The first drawing is the chair that sort of resembled a very basic school chair, which also symbolized the initial emptiness I had towards the experience that awaited me
1 - "Yaklaşım Tüneli"
Yaklaşım Tüneli was a long straight tunnel that was almost covered in complete darkness and strange, incomprehensible noises that accompanied it. The site naturally constructed an uneasy, intimidating experience which I reflected to the chair drawing. Therefore the chair looks broken with some parts missing, while also looking like it came out of a scary movie covered with the cockroaches I saw graffitied on the tunnell walls
2 - Rum Meslek Kız Lisesi
Rum Meslek Kız Lisesi was an old and abandoned highschool building that was slightly falling apart, but still in tact. I imitated this feature by choosing an antique looking chair with decorations on its top rail. The site was filled with digital tablets that all showcased different videos under the concept of 'disobedience', therefore I covered the chair with those tablets that are unplugged from the power source underneath.
3 - Büyükdere35
Büyükdere35 was a site that sold 'manda yoğurdu' which is yoghurt from buffalo's milk. The site obviously narrated parts of the pastoral life, but what it also did was to remind the audience of 'togetherness' through the songs and lyrics that was written on the mirror walls of the site. I tried to reflect the sincerity, pastorality and warmth of the site by drawing this wooden 'seat' with a buffalo skull on top which mirrors the 'buffalo yoghurt' culture.
4 - Pera Müzesi
Pera Müzesi had multiple exhibition floors displaying separate themes, cultures, or stories from around the world. I believe the concept of minorities could be one common roof for all. I felt as if I got exposed to a whole world consisting of various groups, communities that shared cultural, social, geographical differences. The chair I find fitting for the site was actually a chair I saw in Pera Müzesi. I tried to correspond to this ambiguous and overwhelming feeling when I saw all the contrasting lives inside the stories. The misty dark clouds, being these stories, are encircling the chair, being the representation of my world. With the magnifier on top of the chair, I am 'zooming in' or diving into these unique stories around the world.
5 - performistanbul
performistanbul gathered multiple elements, pages, books, videos, newspapers about the local repressed minorities such as women sex workers, protesters or social movement supporters. I felt the forced silence, the pressure and its reflections on the supposed minorities, therefore I reflected these concepts on the 'seat' chair. I drew a simple-looking chair that has collapsed sideways onto the ground with a police baton lying on its back, while the chairs legs are handcuffed according their sizes. I aimed to emphasize this injustice with the simpleness of the chair as it represents repressed groups in minority that is looking just like a regular chair, and just like anyone in the society.
6 - The Çinili Hamam
The Çinili Hamam is a 'hamam', a Turkish bath that had multiple media installations for the Biennial. The authentic atmosphere of the site immediately separates the site among the others, and the ambiance created with the use of speakers really contributes to this atmosphere. My aim for the Çinili Hamam was to copy one of the 'stools' I saw inside the site and draw a window with Islamic motifs behind it. The dark and twisted cloud breaks the continuous symmetry of the window motifs and directs the attention to the mysterious world the Çinili Hamam offers all with the installed media for Biennial.
7 - Nostalji Kitap Evi
Nostalji Kitap Evi is a cozy book store that serves nice coffee to accompany the site with. The site has poems printed on papers and hung up on the walls, which translate to feelings of loss, of the ever-changing time, feelings in everyday life and multiple streams of consciousness. I aimed picturing these feelings in a worn out chair that was perhaps very comfortable to sit in the past. The chair has lost half of its legs but still stands, almost in the brink of crumbling and falling to pieces. The chair is leaning towards the books that could be the sole reason the chair hasn't fallen yet.
8 - Küçük Mustafa Paşa Hamamı
Küçük Mustafa Paşa Hamamı was another Turkish bath amongst the Çinili Hamam in the list of Biennial sites. The hamam had multiple rooms that were filled with printed work, books, and screens displaying documentaries. With dimmed lightning, the bath had a dungeon-ish look for the audience. I copied another stool I saw inside the site and drew the familiar fountains of the bath next to it. Next to these, I drew a 'portal' that invites the audience into what the displayed artwork, books and documentaries might behold inside.
After drawing the chair illustrations, I have decided to carry the project one step further and started putting the illustrations on posters.
The idea that I formed around the posters was:
"How could I market the biennials to people?"
To make sure the posters intrigued people, I used a striking
header with "bienal" written on top of it, which sort of merged
with the chair illustrations at the back. I also used excerpts from
the biennial's own statement, and tried to conceptually match
the excerpts and their meanings with the chairs and their locations.
With these posters, I felt as if my mere curiosity to select and illustrate the biennial have found shape in a branding project that could create a larger impact amongst the audiences.
Finally, I did mockups that could complement the Biennial's new public look and aid in creating a consistent design language. Hanging banners, roll up posters and business cards were examples that could help the visibility of the Biennial and impact larger spaces.
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