The exhibition seeks to produce a narrative of personal worlds in a time of rampant globalization, featuring works that explore introspection, personal and visionary narration and dialogue, documenting a far-reaching external-and-internal movement and transformation. Works by Turkish artists find their synergetic counterpoise in examples of international contemporary art that cast light on Istanbul's cultural memory. Searching for Contemporary Istanbul includes the work of artists who live and work in the city, including international artists based in Istanbul, Turkish artists living abroad, and international artists who have made work about the city. The exhibition includes works that use ceramics, textiles, design, architecture, and various different production techniques (installation, painting, sculpture, photography, and video).
Emre Hüner's major installation A Little Larger than the Entire Universe (2012), recently displayed at Manifesta 9, collects fragments and narratives as diverse as the NASA space-program, utopian dreams, ceramics based on forms taken from nature, hand-tools, creating a dialogue between science, progress, and visionary thinking. German artist Marcel Odenbach's two-screen video from 2003 Männergeschichten 1 ["Men Stories 1"], meanwhile, underscores male ritual played exemplified by being shaved at a barber's shop.
The work of a number of women artists is represented in the exhibition, combining traditional crafts with new technologies: Füsun Onur has produced a new hand-beaded textile work, turning away from major histories and grand statements to produce an immensely personal and feminist position —connected to private worlds and the quasi-traditional realm of handicraft.
Signs Taken in Wonder: Searching for Contemporary Istanbul
MAK Exhibition Hall
Weiskirchnerstraße 3, Vienna
