Hidden Screenplays
Curated by Nesli Gül Works by Kardelen Fincancı and İsmail Egler Hidden Screenplays relates to alternative movements against obedience and focuses on the cracks and seepages that occur within communities. It comes into prominence through the destruction of dominant statements or disciplinary structures. At the same time, it questions daily life rituals and regulations even as it continues to operate from within them. Drawing on James Scott’s notion of hidden transcripts, Hidden Screenplays emerges from situations in which no direct responses remain against dominance. Identity, sexist and psychological repression, compulsory military service, and womanhood form key resources shaping the exhibition. The works address the transgression of borders and the power of imagination as tactics against dominance. Countries such as Turkey and Iran offer charged contexts for examining social norms due to their domineering governmental structures. These contexts confront individuals with the need for tactics or tricks derived from lived observation and experience. The erosion of womanhood, enforced military service, and exposure to authoritarian systems lead to diverse modes of defection, where resistance originates in those ignored by dominant powers. Finally, the decision to use a space that sustains itself as underground and away from the eyes of authority, rather than a conventional public space, potentially weakens visibility while simultaneously reinforcing the exhibition’s logic. The space itself becomes a Hidden Screenplay, enacting an alternative tactic through which obedience is interrupted. Kardelen Fincancı was born in 1985 in Istanbul. She graduated from the Plastic Arts Department at Kocaeli University and holds an MA in Art and Design from Yıldız Technical University. Her practice includes site-specific installations and public performances. İsmail Egler was born in 1983 in Istanbul. He graduated from the Faculty of Fine Arts at Marmara University and holds an MA in Interactive Media Design from Yıldız Technical University, as well as an MFA in Media Design from FH Joanneum in Graz. His research focuses on time-based media and narrative forms. He lives and works between Graz and Istanbul. S. Nesli Gül was born in 1986 and is based in Istanbul. She graduated from the Faculty of Art and Design at Yıldız Technical University and holds an MA in Museum Studies from the same institution. She works as a research assistant at Yıldız Technical University and as an independent curator. The visit of Nesli Gül, Kardelen Fincancı, and İsmail Egler to Tehran was made possible through the generous support of Yıldız Teknik Üniversitesi. Venue: Sazmanab (Sazman-e Ab St.) October 19 – October 24, 2012 – 4-8 PM Opening reception: Friday, October 19 – 4-9 PM
