A RECALL OF ONE’S OWN
Artists: Monika Czyżyk & Merve Vural
Curated by Sinan Eren Erk
Venue: Bilsart (Istanbul)
6.01-29.01.2022
Photographer : Cansu Ayduran
https://www.bilsart.com/en/exhibitions/monika-czyzyk-2/
https://www.bilsart.com/en/exhibitions/merve-vural-2/
Artists: Monika Czyżyk & Merve Vural
Curated by Sinan Eren Erk
Venue: Bilsart (Istanbul)
6.01-29.01.2022
Photographer : Cansu Ayduran
https://www.bilsart.com/en/exhibitions/monika-czyzyk-2/
https://www.bilsart.com/en/exhibitions/merve-vural-2/
review: https://www.artfulliving.com.tr/sanat/kendini-hatirlama-i-24743
Bilsart hosts Monika Czyżyk and Merve Vural’s exhibition entitled “A Recall of One’s Own”
curated by Sinan Eren Erk on January 06-29, 2022
The exhibition consisted in two parts, features Monika Czyzyk’s video work “BOdyssey
(Interlude)” for the first 10 days and then Merve Vural’s video “Crystal Vase”. Both works are
accompanied with an in-situ installation realized with the contribution of both artists. The
objects in the installation have performative, body presence, therefore their position in the
space has been changing. The objects have been used during a workshop, organised and
realized by the artists together with the local participants.
A Recall of One’s Own
Sinan Eren Erk
“After all, an illusion, no matter how convincing,
remained nothing more than an illusion.”[1]
Sometimes we cannot visualise the past. We cannot hear a sound from a while ago or
imagine the details of a face. What is at the tip of our tongue cannot be said; the confusion
never clarifies. Sometimes these gaps are formed by conscious forgetfulness. We search for
the thing that would fill the gap in our memory – like filling a crater left by a meteor hitting the
earth with great force. When things of the past get fragmented into innumerable parts, what
we call real becomes only about how we want to combine these fragmented parts.
Sinan Eren Erk
“After all, an illusion, no matter how convincing,
remained nothing more than an illusion.”[1]
Sometimes we cannot visualise the past. We cannot hear a sound from a while ago or
imagine the details of a face. What is at the tip of our tongue cannot be said; the confusion
never clarifies. Sometimes these gaps are formed by conscious forgetfulness. We search for
the thing that would fill the gap in our memory – like filling a crater left by a meteor hitting the
earth with great force. When things of the past get fragmented into innumerable parts, what
we call real becomes only about how we want to combine these fragmented parts.
WE CALL IT
A RECALL
A RECALL
This is actually an incredibly problematic concept; it is political and psychological, physical
and spiritual. It is associated with love and hate, both subjective and objective. It is all at
once yet nothing at the same time. Remembering is restoration of reality but can also be
construction of fiction. Remembering is daring enough to oppose even an archive that has
been recorded, fixed to a point in time yet equally unreliable. Just like the cessation of turbid
water, the sediment of experiences covers all as it sinks to the bottom. What lies at the
bottom is the comfort zone. Forgetting is the water calming down, while remembering stirs
the water. And as a matter of fact, remembering often includes forgetting.
and spiritual. It is associated with love and hate, both subjective and objective. It is all at
once yet nothing at the same time. Remembering is restoration of reality but can also be
construction of fiction. Remembering is daring enough to oppose even an archive that has
been recorded, fixed to a point in time yet equally unreliable. Just like the cessation of turbid
water, the sediment of experiences covers all as it sinks to the bottom. What lies at the
bottom is the comfort zone. Forgetting is the water calming down, while remembering stirs
the water. And as a matter of fact, remembering often includes forgetting.
“A Recall of One’s Own” focuses on the personal and social remembrance practices of two
artists born in different parts of the planet. The recent works of Monika Czyżyk and Merve
Vural, who were born in the year the destruction of the Berlin Wall began, take the archive
and recording practice at the center of the narrative while leaving the audience in unsafe
waters – the act of remembering.
artists born in different parts of the planet. The recent works of Monika Czyżyk and Merve
Vural, who were born in the year the destruction of the Berlin Wall began, take the archive
and recording practice at the center of the narrative while leaving the audience in unsafe
waters – the act of remembering.
“One has only to read, to look, to listen, to remember.”[2]
—--
[1] Philip K. Dick, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (1966)
[2] Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own (1929)
[1] Philip K. Dick, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (1966)
[2] Virginia Woolf, A Room of One’s Own (1929)
BOdyssey (interlude), 2022, HD video, colour, sound, 34 min A Recall of One’s Own, Monika Czyżyk & Merve Vural Curated by Sinan Eren Erek, Bilsart, Istanbul,
Monika Czyżyk, BOdyssey LAB, 2022, performative workshop.
Monika Czyżyk, Frogo Knitix 1-2-3, 2022, Digital print on a carpet, selection of AVI videos from BOdyssey archives, mp4 players, bronze armor with leather mounts, 180 x 80 cm
Installation view, A Recall of One’s Own
Monika Czyżyk, Frogo Knitix 1-2-3, 2022, detail
Monika Czyżyk, Frogo Knitix 1-2-3, 2022, detail
Monika Czyżyk, Frogo Knitix 1-2-3, 2022, detail
Merve Vural, Crystal Vase 2020, Aluminium foil, PVC mount, tape, 150 x 45 cm
Monika Czyżyk & Merve Vural, BOdyssey LAB, 2022, Video Girl barbies, digital prints on magnets and doll’s uniforms, AAA batteries, bronze armor with leather elements, metal shelf, 135 x 180 cm
Installation view, A Recall of One’s Own
Merve Vural, Your zodiac sign says, Joseph Beuys performance, How to explain art to a rabbit phone case? 2020, plush toy, PVC board, 20 x 15 cm
Monika Czyżyk, Frogo 1 Grosz on a bath towel, 2022, bronze, coin, wool thread, 1x 2cm
Monika Czyżyk & Merve Vural, BOdyssey LAB, 2022, detail
