Eşref Yıldırım at Space Debris Istanbul and in Yekaterinburg (16/11/2017)


Curated by Naz Cugoğlu and Serhat Cacekli of Collective Çukurcuma alongside Russia-based Nikolay Alutin, the “Survival Kit” exhibition was held at Karaköy’s independent art venue Space Debris between September 8-October 7. The exhibition focused on the nuanced, indirect approaches employed within artistic practices in countries like Russia and Turkey that are experiencing restraints in the democratic sphere. The exhibition was also featured in the public program of the 4th Ural Biennial at the Cultural Transit Foundation between October 6-26 and consisted of works of ten artists from Turkey and Russia. Eşref Yıldırım contributed to the exhibition with the work “Insult” (2017), which used a variety of alphabets from Cyrillic to Urdu to encode political statements that are censored in both countries. Yıldırım’s postcards are released into circulation with slogans used by opposition groups. With the assistance of the anonymous medium that he uses, the artist is–albeit in a limited manner–able to express himself to viewers.

 

https://collectivecukurcuma.com/2017/08/09/survival-kit/