The Independent Space for Contemporary Art in Dulcinea is contributing to the art scene which has become rather active with the 6th International Biennial of İstanbul with a group exhibition titled "Picture in the Hills". The exhibition opened on the 16th of September will last until October 21st. The exhibition curated by Claire-Lyse Bucci includes the work of 10 Turkish artists- Hüseyin Alptekin, Elif Ara, Bülent Şangar, Halil Altındere, Selim Birsel, Vahit Tuna, Canan Şenol, Gülsün Karamustafa, Aytekin Olgunsoy, and Hale Tenger- who have been contributing to the emergence and development of contemporary art in Turkey.

Claire-Lyse Bucci comments that this exhibition presenting different perspectives on certain problematics, some rather general some more focused, and on subjects already difficult to define and mobile which correspond to the nature of contemporary art and artists. The aim of this exhibition is to create a forum, a debate allowing for diverse opinions and directions suitable for the young Turkish creation of the last few years, that has been exploring new means of expression.

The exhibition, inspired by the expression, "First look at the hills in the picture, then, look at the picture formed by the hills." by the Chinese philosopher, Li-Liveng, is also making a reference to İstanbul, the city of 7 hills. This expression also suggests that the exhibition is commenting on the popularity of the kitsch, romantic landscape paintings in Turkey.

According to Bucci, the exhibition presents with each artist's specific point of origin, various explorations of breaking free from the West, resisting it while at the same time being fascinated by it. These creative results are related to issues, universal but also embracing culture-specific properties, such as man, woman, man and woman, as a family or with their 'restrictive' natures socially and politically conditioned, inherently, externally or inclusively.

Halil Altındere's video, 'Hard and Light' is one of the engaging pieces of the exhibition. Altındere uses cigarette packages in symbolising the emotional 'interaction' between a man and a woman sitting across from each other, their faces remaining unseen, accompanied by romantic music. The interaction between the pack of Marlboro lights smoked by the woman and the pack of harsh Marlboro reds turns into sexual intercourse in contrast to the emotional relationship between the two figures. In a way, Altındere is hinting at the 'real' thoughts passing the minds of a woman and a man during a romantic dinner.

Canan Şenol, reminds the viewer of the burdens which traditions put on women, in her hand-made book of miniatures, Nisai, in which she pictures some passages from Kuran on the relationships between man and women, and she uses her own body as one of the tools in exploring the female identity.

The plastic balls without air which Selim Birsel randomly placed on the floor, and Elif Ara's photographic piece which she calls 'Dress Me Up' are among the works displayed in this exhibition.

In Hale Tenger's video piece titled, 'Borders', in which two monitors are placed on top of each other, the borders of the world of children is represented by a game played with a rope, and the disappearing of the line drawn on sand with the waves suggest that nature does not accept any borders.

Bülent Şangar's work 'Untitled', invites the viewer to an ordinary breakfast scene through the reflections on the lid of the kettle. In 'Borrowed Moments', Gülsün Karamustafa, draws the attention to the relationships between father-mother, mother-daughter, daughter-son-in-law by digitally manipulating anonymous photographs. Vahit Tuna's work, 'Art Today', in which he places three photographs next to each other, comments on the temporary nature of today's artwork. In his other work, 'Armut', which is the photograph of a pear (armut in Turkish) printed on a postcard, Tuna makes a reference to Marcel Duchamp's urinal piece, from 1917, which he signed R.Mutt. Tuna turns Duchamp's urinal into a pear like form in his print.

The statement in Aytekin Olgunsoy's 'Untitled' piece, "Treating woman as well as she deserves is like looking at dried wish until enjoying it" is enough to make the female viewers angry. Hüseyin Alptekin also participates in the exhibition with a digital print on vinyl titled, "Ah Odessa".

Esra Aliçavuşoğlu,
Cumhuriyet, Eylül1999