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"ABOVEGROUND", 2009 |
Video, duration 10' each, lcd screen |
From the exhibition site, KIBLA, Maribor, Slovenia |
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A part from the video |
Press Release |
In all the visited countries including Turkey, Zeren Göktan worked with 'Pigeon raisers', which is a hobby-like profession both many people are familiar, but also it is a very particular profession of this region as an Eastern phenomenon. The name of this project is 'aboveground' because this culture is only visible if you look at the sky. It also exists in United States, Europe and Asia but it shows huge cultural dis-similarities. Through these people whom she filmed and interviewed she focuses on the relations of these men with pigeons because it is a ‘man’ thing to do and also look for a woman which on some level she know she will never able to find. However, she choose to remain optimistic and persistently ask each man if they ever saw a woman doing this and then ask whey they aren’t any. For these man this is a place where they can free their soles and genuinely love. It is also a place where they can escape from the struggles of real life and “bad habits” like going to coffee houses and playing cards. In the end some form of ideology is created through an obsession based on pigeons. This ideology seems to exist in a universe that is beside the realm of everyday life and not in it. The work is a poetic-editing from her research work.
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Zeren Goktan proje kapsaminda ziyaret edilen tum ulkelerde ‘guvercin yetistiricileri’ ile calisti. Guvercin yetistirmek bircok insanin asina oldugu bir ugras, fakat ayni zamanda ozellikle bu bolgeye ozgu olan Dogulu bir fenomen. Videonun basliginin Yerustu olmasinin nedeni bu kulturun ancak gokyuzune dogru bakinca gorunur olmasi. ABD’de, Avrupa’da ve Asya’da da guvercin yetistiricileri var fakat bu bolgeyle buyuk kulturel farklar goseriyor. Sanatci guvercin yetistiricelerini videoya cekerek ve onlarla mulakatlar yaparak bu erkeklerin guvercinlerle kurduklari iliskiyi irdeliyor. Cunku bu oldukca ‘erkekce’ bir ugras. Goktan calismasinda bu isle ugrasan kadinlar aramaya devam etse de aslinda hicbir zaman boyle birilerini bulamayacagini biliyor. Yine de iyimser kalmayi seciyor ve yilmadan konustugu erkeklere hic guvercin yetistiren bir kadin gorup gormediklerini ve nedenini soruyor. Erkekler icin burasi ruhlarini ozgurlestirebildikleri ve icten bir sevgi duyabildikleri, ayni zamanda gercek hayatin mucadelelerinden ve kahveye gitmek ve kagit oynamak gibi ‘kotu aliskanliklardan’ kacabildikleri bir yer. Sonucta guvercin saplantisi bir tur ideolojiye donusuyor ve bu ideoloji sanki gundelik hayatin icinde olmayan, onun yaninda duran bir evrende var oluyor. Goktan’in arastimasinin siirsel bir montajindan olusuyor.