Neriman Polat

Breaking the Seal: A Selection of Works from 1996 to 2019

Curated by Derya Yücel and Mahmut Wenda Koyuncu

November 27, 2019 – January 12, 2020

Neriman Polat’s solo exhibition Breaking the Seal brings together a wide array of the artist’s works from 1996 to 2019 on the first and second floors of Depo. Curated by Derya Yücel and Mahmut Wenda Koyuncu, the exhibition presents the personal and collective memory of the artist’s practice since the 90s, which focuses on social/cultural/political issues and contemplates the construction and expression of cultural phenomena.

Breaking the Seal builds up a stage for the wide range of topics Polat employs in her practice such as gender, violence, power mechanisms intrinsic to daily interactions, cities and urban transformation. She tackles these issues relating to private and public with a specific, wholistic language of her own. The exhibition which underlines the distinct currents in the artist’s practice, also brings forward various media and techniques artist has worked with over the years; ranging from photography, video and installation to textiles.

Opening: November 26, 2019, 18:30

The selection made by the curators Derya Yücel and Mahmut Wenda Koyuncu spans different periods in Polat’s career, and is shaped through a focus on the prominent subjects in the artist’s practice and the interconnections between them. Breaking the Seal constructs a non-linear, relational narrative from the pieces Polat has made in different modes of working: works focusing on the repressed and subordinate identities and gender through a critical, feminist perspective, works that deal with public space, environment, changes in sites, urban transformation and demolition and works in which she transforms what is intuitive, intrinsic and subconscious through fictional images and metaphors.

Neriman Polat, participated in various exhibitions in Turkey and abroad since 1996. After exhibiting in the 6th Istanbul Biennial: The Passion and the Wave in 1999, she took part in the Turkish Pavillion in the 50th Venice Biennial in 2003. Between 2000-2009 she was a member of the artist collective Hafriyat and exhibited works with the collective in several exhibitions. Among her solo exhibitions are “Photo-Grave” at Apartment Project (2007), “Father’s Home Apt.” at Pi Artworks (2008), “Modest View” at C.A.M. Gallery (2010), “Home Watch” at Depo (2013), “Threshold” at Disambigua Artspace in Italy (2015) and “Merciless” at Merdiven Art Space (2018). Neriman Polat’s works have been exhibited in various countries such as Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, Netherlands, England, Greece, Slovenia, Italy, Brazil and Spain among others. She lives and works in Istanbul.