Conversation with Sena Başöz and Maria-Thalia Carras
Instances of Erasure
Video Screening Program
October 19, 2023 - February 17, 2024
with Bani Abidi, Sena Başöz, Hera Büyüktaşcıyan, Guido Casaretto, Isaac Chong Wai, Itamar Gov, İz Öztat, Simon Wachsmuth
Program by: Nazlı Yayla & Marjolein van der Meer
Conversation with Sena Başöz and Maria-Thalia Carras
Tuesday, 6 February 2024, 19h
Goethestraße 82, Berlin
Sena Başöz
The Parade, 2023
Performance video, color, sound; 6’30’’
Commissioned by Yapı Kredi Culture Arts and Publishing
Sena Başöz is an artist working across different media. Her works investigate healing, seeking ways of interacting with what is considered out of reach and experimentally regenerating what is considered frozen-dead-stale-lost. In her works, she focuses on broader definitions of ‘care’ and the practices it entails. The artist often works with archives as the only tangible material between life and death.
Beyoğlu is one of the most frequently changing districts of Istanbul. The buildings and monuments are repeatedly used for different purposes than what they were originally intended for. In The Parade, five young performers carry pieces of imagined ruins from today's Beyoğlu as they walk through the area. Overall, the piece explores the possibility of continuity and regeneration in the face of destruction and social change.
Sena Başöz is a visual/performance artist and a filmmaker. Her recent solo exhibitions and performances include Inevitable Choreography, Zilberman, Istanbul (2023); Possibilities of Healing, Yapı Kredi Culture Arts and Publishing, Istanbul (2023); Slalom, Wellcome Collection, London (2022); Clam, Matsutake at Librairie Yvon Lambert, Paris (2021); Ars Oblivionis, Lotsremark Projekte, Basel (2020); and Hold on Let go, MO-NO-HA Seongsu, Seoul (2020). Sena Başöz has participated in group exhibitions such as There is Nothing Inevitable About Time, TAVROS, Athens (2022); Transitorische Turbulenzen, Kunstraum Dreiviertel, Bern (2020); Studio Bosphorus, Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin (2018); Quiet Dialogue, Tokyo Metropolitan Museum (2018) and Sharjah Biennial Offsite Exhibition: BAHAR, Istanbul (2017).
Maria-Thalia Carras is a curator and writer, and the director and founder of TAVROS, an independent art space in Athens that through its program of exhibitions, screenings, talks and educational programs aims to embrace collaborations with local communities and like-minded institutions, creating an open and welcoming space for unheard or marginalised voices. Previously she was the co-founder of locus athens, a nomadic non-profit organisation which explored the juncture between public space and contemporary visual practices. In 2021 she served as a member of the jury of the 23rd Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. In 2023 she was the curator of the 8th Thessaloniki Biennial titled Being as Communion.
Platform 82 powered by Zilberman is a new art space that aims to bring together artists, curators and institutions from different corners of the world, generating dialogue through conversations, presentations, publications, and exchange programs.
Instances of Erasure
Instances of Erasure brings together 8 video works by 8 artists, accompanied by a series of conversations. Running from October 2023 until February 2024, two videos by two artists are on view roughly every four weeks, with conversations between artists and guests.
With films by Bani Abidi, Sena Başöz, Hera Büyüktaşcıyan, Guido Casaretto, Isaac Chong Wai, Itamar Gov, İz Öztat and Simon Wachsmuth. Guests include Sam Bardaouil, Maria-Thalia Carras, Zippora Elders, Nida Ghouse, Nav Haq, Hajra Haider Karrar, Füsun Türetken and Marianna van der Zwaag.
Instances of Erasure delves into the theme of erasure. Through their visual narratives, artists invite the viewer to contemplate the delicate threads that connect memory, history, and the shaping of identity. It encompasses urban structures, architectural fragments and unseen traces that enable one to re-read social and personal histories.