Last month, Pearl Lam welcomed acclaimed Turkish artist Inci Eviner for her first solo exhibition in Asia. Known for touching on social issues in her works, she notes that much of her inspiration is generated from her daily life. It's part of her belief that art should empower viewers with aspiration rather than exist solely as pure visual appreciation.
Born in Ankara in 1956, Inci Eviner graduated from the Painting Department of the National Academy of Fine Arts, Istanbul and completed her Ph. D degree later in Mimar Sinan University. Known for her insightful artistic expression, Eviner never hesitates to wield the power of her art, using it as her voice in approaching challenges that the world faces.
“I started drawing when I was very little. The moment I held a drawing pen in my hand, I couldn't let go.” she says, wearing a proud smile on her face. “Drawing is important and the most fundamental step in creating all my works. I could spend hours in my studio, putting the wildest image in my mind on paper.”
Her current exhibition, Looping on Thin Ice, featuring installations, videos and drawings, reveals the artist’s concern of the long existing social issues in her country including gender issues and the hard life of migrants. As desperate as these issues can be, Inci doesn't hold back with her artistic response.
One of the exhibited video works, 'Something Bad Happened to Me,' shows two girls motioning in seemingly different spaces – one keeps chanting on the left and the other dances eccentrically and silently in a tongue shaped costume. As the chanting goes from low to high and the rhythm speeds up, the other girl suddenly transforms into a street dog.
Though this peculiar twist might amuse the audience, the artist’s intention for her most recent piece is to represent “both happy and sad moments." The message of these symbols pop – staged space, theatrical performances and tongue – clearly and directly presenting her message. If not, the artist’s narrative will guide viewers through.
They threw the woman’s tongue into the garbage…
Now the centuries will cover it
Something bad happened to me,
You’re separating my nails from their flesh,
…
Another detail that is hard to miss is the reappearance of that street dog in different works. Eviner explains that stray dogs are everywhere in Istanbul and people enjoy playing with them, embracing them as part of their lives. It’s an indispensible element that incorporates the reality of her daily life.
“I don’t mind people putting labels on me as a female artist from Turkey,” she says. “It’s the world that has problems and it’s not quite fair to blame it on specific groups. Since art is a universal language, I hope that through my works, the audience can relate and think about the importance of self-identity.”
Until Oct 31, 10.30am–7pm. Pearl Lam Galleries.
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