Selma Gürbüz: Long Night. Fareaway Voyages.

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“I am not seeing, what isn’t following the path of beauty, I am not hearing it and I am not talking about it”. The metaphor of the three monkeys comes from Buddhism. It isn’t completely clear if the motive opriginates from India, China or Japan. The carvation of the three monkeys is part of one building on the shrine of the Shogun Tokugawa Leyasu (1543-1616) in the Japanese city of Nikko, 140 km north from Tokyo.

In Asian culture it means, that the wise man doesn’t want to see uglyness. He also doesn’t want to listen to the evil and he won’t quote it. Actually a rather simple truth. Interestingly it’s meaning got transformed in western culture. Here a moral judgement is added: the monkeys represent the ignorant, whoe doesn’t want to see, listen and hear. Evil is getting powerful because of it’s denial.

In Selma Gürbüz picture the three apes don’t take part in the dancing going around them. There is a breeze of tragedy fanning this group. The singled ape, who doesn’t want to see, is in a even worst condition of agony.

I am wondering which commentary Gürbüz tries to do? Is the evil around because of it’s denial or in spite of it? I guess, the apes won’t know.

Gallery Rampa,Istanbul, 05.01.2013 – 09-02-2013