Nora Byrne at Nadas
American artists Nora Byrne spend a lot of time on the streets of Istanbul. The title of her first Solo Show is “Dolaşmak/Wander”. The drawings and “Found-paper-collages” are the result of an intensive stroll through central spots and different neighborhoods as well. Byrne chose photography-artist Murat Germen as instructor at Sabancı university due to his works on city structures. Thematically inspired by his works and analysis she managed to develop a totally different medium and style for her exploration of the city.
The drawings focus on the striking opposites and side by side realities in neighborhoods. Göztepe and Fikirtepe for example are spots that underwent an immense change during the past two decades. The best way to explore is by walking and by using public transportation.
The Found- paper-collages are an amazing form to represent the different layers of the city physically and conceptually. All used items were found in the city. Nora Byrne used some leftover magazines from the university library that match thematically with her topics. Texts about economy, urban growth and photographs of Istanbul and Turkey are incorporated in the installations. The works are multilayered paper landscapes with sculptural impacts.
The exhibition interacts with the space. The small old house has a small garden in the backside. The name of the street is “Uzun Hafıza Sokak, the street of long memory. The house is patterned by traces of yesterday and today. One of Byrne’s Found-Paper-Collages is installed in an old wooden window-frame. Probably the house was detached before someone built a house just beside it and closing the window. NADAS is a new creative house, located in Yeldeğirmeni, Uzun Hafiza Sokak No.80, Kadıköy. It opens space for individual and community projects that value the diversity urban life and relationships between people and their environments. The exhibition and the space are highly recommendable. A fresh and poetic, well handcrafted unique show set up in the perfect environment for its content.
