Eşref Yıldırım Bursa, Türkei, 1978

Eşref Yıldırım (b.1978, Turkey) focuses on themes of media representation, power dynamics, and social taboos. His works explore the lives of individuals shaped by the pressures of social hierarchies, gender roles, and racial prejudice.
 

In his artistic practice, he combines personal experiences with shared narratives to create works that hold meaning across different contexts. By incorporating repurposed objects and materials, Yıldırım reimagines familiar elements, giving them new meanings that challenge conventional perspectives. Storytelling plays an important role in his work, weaving together fragments of memory, identity, and history to create layered visual narratives. In his performances, by exploring different forms of narrative, he integrates bodily movements, site-specific arrangements, and audience participation to transform his works.
 

Eşref Yıldırım lives and works in Istanbul. He completed his BA and MA at the Painting Department of Mimar Sinan University. His recent solo exhibitions includes It rained heavily that day (Zilberman Istanbul, 2026), Days, Verses, Knots (Çankaya Municipality, Ankara, 2025), Dust and Mold (Zilberman Berlin, 2023), Night Residuals (curated by T. Melis Golar, Bilsart, Istanbul, 2022). Diary of Defeats (Zilberman İstanbul, 2018). Selected group exhibitions include MAI-In Dialogue with Joseph Beuys (Schloss Moyland Museum, Bedburg-Hau, 2025), Rising waters, radiating lights (Zilberman Istanbul, 2024), Karşı Pencere (curated by Melike Bayık, KOLİ Art Space, Istanbul, 2021), and Unlock (Zilberman Istanbul, 2020).