irem günaydın - From a Tummy to the Sky

Exhibition view from the “From a Tummy to the Sky via a Mouth” 2017, Ark Kültür | Istanbul

“MUTLULUK GÖBÜŞTE BAŞLAR,” 2017, powder-coated steel, 145x70x5 cm

Details from “MUTLULUK GÖBÜŞTE BAŞLAR,” 2017

Exhibition view from the “From a Tummy to the Sky via a Mouth” 2017, Ark Kültür | Istanbul

“From a Tummy to the Sky via a Mouth” written by Irem Gunaydin on the occasion of the exhibition, Edition of 250, 2017, Ark Kültür | Istanbul

Exhibition view from the “From a Tummy to the Sky via a Mouth,” 2017, Ark Kültür | Istanbul

View from "an elephant, two berries, two toothbrushes", aluminum cut out, various sizes.

View from the "Berry tree"

Details from the “From a Tummy to the Sky via a Mouth,” 2017, Ark Kültür | Istanbul

View from the “From a Tummy to the Sky via a Mouth,” 2017, Ark Kültür | Istanbul

Details from the “From a Tummy to the Sky via a Mouth,” 2017, Ark Kültür | Istanbul

“Support Sky” 2017, digital vinyl print on melamine board, 250 x 170cm

“Support Sky” 2017Digital vinyl printing on melamine board, 250 x 170cm

Details from the “From a Tummy to the Sky via a Mouth,” 2017, Ark Kültür | Istanbul

This exhibition, held over three floors and a garden, unfolds via works that combine video, sculpture, written material, and graphical elements into one seamless narrative. The exhibition starts in the garden with the work "Mutluluk Göbüşte Başlar," which translates as "Happiness starts in the tummy" in English. The sentence is installed on the round pool and is also the beginning phrase of the limited-edition text written by the artist. The exhibition title, “From a Tummy to the Sky via a Mouth,” refers directly to the works that unfold holistically throughout the gallery and garden spaces. If one considers the garden as the tummy and inside the gallery as the mouth, then a route develops, which starts at the tummy and ends in the sky via a mouth. In conjunction with elements from the video works, the text is published in a limited edition of 120, each numbered by the artist. Four figures gleaned from the video works accompany the text, one for each page: the berry, the toothbrush, the elephant, and the green bean. These figures propose a flow via the geometry and graphics by reappearing in different mediums for the rest of the exhibition. The text and the video continue with mouth-orientated activities such as brushing teeth, speaking, and eating. The libido is always centered inside a mouth.

Irem Gunaydin

2017, ISTANBUL