Nezaket Ekici: Dal non-finito al finito

The Performance „Dal non-finito al finito“ was shown on the 1. Arts- and Culture-Festival of the Culture-Academy Tarabya (30.06.18) as a Premiere. Nezaket Ekici is  alumnus of the Academy.

Interview with the artist:

In which frame do you use the title?

In my performance “Dal non-finito al finito” I follow in the footsteps of the sculpture. The term “non-finito” is a fixed term in art history. It was already used by Michelangelo and used by August Rodin as a fixed stylistic device. For financial reasons, Michelangelo made unfinished sculptures. August Rodin, on the other hand, consciously used the unfinished nature of the sculptures to evoke emotions in the viewer.
This is how I model myself from the clay mass. More and more fragments of my body parts appear. It partly looks like the figures of Rodin. But I sculpt more and more until I free myself from the clay completely. I become a living sculpture.
I was also inspired by the image of the ancient god Atlas. Atlas was a Titan and son of Mother Gaia (Mother Earth). By carrying the world on his shoulders, he symbolizes the Atlas Mountains. Interesting is also that atlas in ancient Greek meaning carrying and indulgence.
It was wonderful to develop the performance with the help of artists like Çağla Sönmez Çakır, Özgün Kutlu Türer, Pelin Terzi and Ayşe Tanman. I want to thank them so much.

A Lady was spontaneously referring to someone freeing himself from debris during you’re performance. Does this make sense to you?

You could also see this interpretation in the performance. Get rid of the rubble from the grave. Everyone sees something different in the performance. That is something positive. The aim of the performance is to awaken associations in the audience.

3. How does the performance correspond to the location and how does it relate to your current artistic phase?

The place is of particular importance to me because I lived and worked here for 10 months. The Culture Academy could be seen through its garden and forest as a large sculpture park.I coreographed my performance specifically outdoor, on the lawn, near the forest, completed with the image of the dense trees. Like a garden sculpture, which should enter into an aesthetic composition with the environment.Lately I do more sculptural performances. Since I once studied sculpture, besides painting and performance. I go back to the origins of my sculptural work.I have already done some work with materials such as clay, earth and plaster. Last eg. Pondus (2015) in which I box a 1-ton clay block. I am fascinated by this material. Besides, I work a lot on freedom. An eruption of sound and the free choice of the Atlas to carry the world and endure its weight, that probably describes my current phase quite well.