In our 433rd art meeting, we visit artist Hakan Akçura. Akçura was born in Ankara in 1962. Between 1986 and 1995, he studied at Mimar Sinan University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Painting at the Adnan Çoker Workshop. In 1995, Akçura participated in the 4th Istanbul Biennial as an invited artist and his works were exhibited in four solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions. Since 2005, Akçura has been living in Sweden, where she has published many calls for participatory art events and participated in many exhibitions with her videos and video-performances, especially against the Iraq war, Sweden's immigration policy and the rising racism and nationalism in Turkey.
The artist brings the concept of “anamnesis”, which means remembering something, reviving retrospective memory, recalling past experiences and information, to the title of the exhibition, and large-scale paintings form the backbone of the exhibition. The acrylic on canvas paintings draw their inspiration from ancient images of millennia-old civilizations that have been transformed, tamed or gender-swapped, from the air war massacres of 80 years ago that destroyed entire cities with their civilian inhabitants, from the collective dreams of North American Indians, and from mythological stories, the content of which is debatable. The exhibition also includes videos of professional actors responding to a question posed by the artist on screens, facing the audience. Collages made with found materials and a performance video created by Hakan Akçura for the exhibition are also on view under the title “Anamnesis”. Since the artist's studio is in Stockholm, we will visit his solo exhibition “Anamnesis” at Karşı Sanat Çalışmaları accompanied by Hakan Akçura and the coordinator of the exhibition, Ezgi Bakçay.
Tuesday, November 28
12.00-13.00
Address: Karşı Sanat Çalışmaları, Asmalı Mescit İstiklal Caddesi No:108 Aznavur Pasajı Kat: 6 Beyoglu/Istanbul