BODY FRAGMENTS

İREM TOK,  HAMRA ABBAS,  HALİL ALTINDERE,  TUFAN BALTALAR,  MURAT ŞAHİNLER,  GÖZDE MİMİKO TÜRKKAN,  SERRA TANSEL,  MELİH ÇEBİ,  ECE AĞIRTMIŞ,  EMİR ERKAYA,  ZEREN GÖKTAN,  DEMET YORUÇ,  ATEŞ ALPAR

28 MAY - 13 JULY

Pilot Gallery is hosting a group exhibition titled "Body Fragments" by 13 artists from May 28th to July 13th, 2024. Featuring works by Ateş Alpar, Demet Yoruç, Ece Ağırtmış, Emir Erkaya, Gözde Mimiko Türkkan, Halil Altındere, Hamra Abbas, İrem Tok, Melih Çebi, Murat Şahinler, Serra Tansel, Tufan Baltalar, and Zeren Göktan, the exhibition focuses on issues of gender roles, hybrid bodies, the duality of nature and the body, ideal bodies produced by capitalism, methods of resisting it, and the transformation of the body into a site of resistance against social norms. 

The body has long served as a battleground for myriad struggles. Central to this discourse is the advocacy for diverse bodies, challenging the hegemony of idealized bodies propagated predominantly by white, heterosexual, male-centric perspectives, particularly in media representation. Feminist and queer artists have pioneered this liberation by utilizing their bodies as symbols of resistance, reshaping our understanding of the body from the 1960s onward. Many artists have explored and continue to explore changes in bodies by incorporating their own bodies into their creative processes.

The artists in the exhibition embrace identities considered 'other,' such as women and queer, while presenting the viewer with the idea that the self is not fixed, but rather a complex network of relationships in constant flux. Through their bodies, the artists convey the emotional turbulence of living under patriarchy, misogyny, racism, and power, and propose bodies that resist normativity by leaking, disintegrating, and laughing. Some explore various ways of communicating through facial expressions, body language, or performance, while others use their bodies to envision narratives of the self.

Physical sensations and pleasures are experienced through the body, experiences that occur not only in the mind but also in the body. This process of discovery begins from the moment we take our first breath and continues as we learn to understand our bodies and body parts, starting with the mother's breast. Our skin becomes a canvas where we trace changes. As we become aware of the boundaries created by our bodies, which differ from one another, and as our responsibilities form, our preferences and life trajectories are shaped.

The exhibition features Mimiko Türkkan's work "Pudica," which examines her own body, Zeren Göktan's "Deep Blue," reflecting on social pressures through a series of women, Serra Tansel's "Headed Women," completing the heads of women in found photographs, and Demet Yoruç's exploration of alienation from herself/body in her paintings paralleling her modeling career. Additionally, Ateş Alpar's photographs depict queer nightlife, Emir Erkaya's new work portrays Lale Müldür, a prominent figure in poetry and cultural life, alongside ghostly bodies, İrem Tok's new sculptures depict severed body parts, and Tufan Baltalar presents a series of ceramic sculptures showing bodies in harmony with nature. Melih Çebi's new works satirize bodies forced to smile by capitalism, Murat Şahinler's work features drag queens and bodybuilders, Halil Altındere's portrait of the robot Sofia and hyper-realistic sculpture "Half Assistant," Ece Ağırtmış's playful sculptures, and Hamra Abbas's portraits of workers made of play dough. The exhibition will also feature a series of performances, including appearances by Lale Müldür during the opening and Gözde Mimiko Türkkan on June 4th.

The "Body Fragments" exhibition at Pilot Gallery will run through July 13th, 2024.