Şafak Şule Kemancı – all the birds would come to my garden

17 June – 10 August 2021

Şafak Şule Kemancı’s first solo exhibition all the birds would come to my garden which borrows its name from a verse written by Küçük İskender, will be on view at Depo. Curated by Sınır/sız, the exhibition creates an inviting and playful garden, a queer and feminist ecosystem that wants to gather all the birds around itself. With this garden, the artist formulates a structure beyond time and space, body, duality and norm, where politically and socially isolated and restricted bodies find a transcendent field of expression.

With an emphasis on transcending the imposed boundaries of the body, sexuality and their infinite possibilities, the exhibition features underglass paintings and a wallpaper installation, in addition to sculptures made of polymer clay and fetish materials such as latex, faux leather and faux fur. By using craft techniques in their works, the artist crosses the boundaries of both the mainstream perception of art which treats craft practices as a lesser art form, as well as the normative world, with a world of images characterised by an open sexuality, queer desire and femininity.

With an ecosexual approach, Şafak Şule Kemancı builds an ecosystem where the sexual experiences people may have with nature are accepted and embraced. Half-human half-plant hybrid beings and sculptures in which human bodies and plants are intertwined remind us that the human body is a part of the non-human world and it is in a constant flow, movement and transformation, just like non-human beings.

Two guided tours of the exhibition will be given, one with Sınır/sız on Wednesday, June 23 as part of Istanbul LGBTI+ Pride Week, and another with the artist on Friday, July 2.

www.safaksulekemanci.com

Sınır/sız is comprised of İlhan Sayın, Ozan Ünlükoç and Metin Akdemir who are independent activists/artists with LGBTI+ organizational experiences in Turkey. Sınır/sız organised group exhibitions with queer feminist artists, namely Sınırsız (2018) and Sınır/sız ALAN (2019). all the birds would come to my garden is Şafak Şule Kemancı’s first solo exhibition in collaboration with Sınır/sız.

 Leaflet

Press

July 12, 2021
Güller ve dudaklar ve dikenler
Argonotlar

July 12, 2021
Kuir-feminist sanatçı Şafak Şule Kemancı: Varoluşumuzu kutlamak istiyorum 
T24

July 17, 2021
Sonsuz ihtimaller bahçesi
gazete duvar

July 26, 2021
Kuir, trans, feminist arzuyu kutlayan sergi: bütün kuşlar benim bahçeme gelir / Şafak Şule Kemancı ile söyleşi
Çatlak Zemin

July 30, 2021
Arzunun desenleri
unlimited

July 30, 2021
“I Wish to Celebrate Our Existence” Queer-Feminist Artist Şafak Şule Kemancı
exhibist