Surface Conditions, 2022

Woven clear nylon thread, coated with sprayed paper pulp from copies of the 2011 Istanbul Convention and the 2021 Turkish presidential decree to withdraw from Istanbul Convention. 96 x 72’’

See other works from the exhibition Biber Bahçesi / Pepper Garden at Access Gallery, Vancouver

Surface Conditions consists of a series of handwoven tapestries made of clear nylon thread and coated with paper pulp. Copies of the 2011 Istanbul Convention, and the 2021 Turkish presidential decree to withdraw from the convention, were torn apart and pulped, then power sprayed onto the woven tapestries. Fragments of the original documents are still visible on the surface, such as Turkish flags, Council of Europe emblems, phrases, words and letters. I made these works as a response to the relentless struggles of grassroots women’s and LGBTQ+ initiatives in Turkey which led to the signing of Istanbul Convention, creating a comprehensive legal framework to combat violence against women and LGBTQ+ individuals. In 2021, Turkey’s participation in the convention was annulled overnight, during a tumultuous political period that saw an intense rise of authoritarianism. In making these works, I was interested in both the strength and fragility of the grassroots women’s and LGBTQ+ movements in Turkey, as well as the generative and destructive potentials of legal frameworks.

Related work: Surface Conditions, 2024