Mom, I’m an artists thats why I’am a suspect

First impression of the Istanbul Biennial

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Under the title of the 13th Istanbul Biennial “Mom, am I barbarian?” the artist itself becomes a suspect of police investigation in the installation by Guillaume Bijl at the Biennial venue Antrepo referring to the circumstances that more then hundred intellectuals mostly journalist but as well artists are in prison in Turkey at the moment without any court case.

The installation SUSPECT, originally exhibited 1980, is a re-creation of the artist’s studio as it appeared after it was searched by the police because of the artist’s ‘unusual’ behavior, as reported by the neighbors. The other part of the installation space holds and displays objects deemed suspicious by the police during the search. These are Bijl’s objects, and they are arranged as evidence of crime – whether a crime was committed or not.

The accompanying text indicates some of the ‘unusual’ acts:

– comes home late at night, probably drunk

– was seen on television at a left wing demonstration

– has long hair

– puts the garbage out on wrong days

– smokes a lot

– is often seen in strange female and male company

– spends a lot of time in bookshops and public parks

The 13th Istanbul Biennial exhibitions venues will be open to public as of Saturday, 14 September and will be closed on Mondays except Monday, 16 September. The biennial venues can be visited between 10 am and 7 pm.