English
On until the 24th July at the Istanbul Modern Museum is exhibition Paradise Lost, in which 19 contemporary artists explore the eternal conflict between nature and the technological world. Through digital videos made by the artists, a dialogue is developed about an uncertain future of nature, and the role of art in sustainability.
The Istanbul Modern Museum, with co-operation from the Department of Education, is opening the show to schools, offering interactive discussion workshops which aim to encourage awareness of the concept of nature in a post-modern society. The interesting interactive programme aims to create communication between people of different ages and generations, and teach them about the uses of different digital medias, and the role of technology in contemporary art.
Amongst the artists participating in the show is acclaimed North American Doug Aitken, whose work encompasses both photography and sculpture. Born in California in 1968, he is one of the most influential digital artists of the States. Since 1990, he´s created numerous interesting installations, in which he uses multiple screens to challenge the idea of a linear narrative. His themes mainly question the use of nature, and his works are ambitious and high-impact – such as Sonic Aitken Pavilionin the wooded area of Inhotim in Brazil, in which sounds of the earth were audible through noise sensors installed a mile deep into the ground. Aitken´s conceptual work has a startling poetic beauty which is always highly conscious of our role in nature.
Native Bulgarian Ergin Çavu?o?lu will be another of the selected members of the debate, whose digital works confront the notion of space and place in order to develop art. In recent works, he explores the boundaries between the new and the old in Europe, tracing the invisible frontiers between the east and the west. Çavu?o?lu studied at the Hiliya Petrov of Sofía National School of Fine Arts, graduating in Mural Painting at the University of Marmara in Istanbul, and going on to get a Masters at Goldsmiths College in London.
Also taking part in the show is emergent Chinese artist Qiu Anxiong, whose work is centered around a critical view of the impact of the economy on the environment, creating videos in black and white, with animated, engraving style drawings.
All of these works – plus others from Greek video-artist Katerina Athanasopoulou, Belgian artist Francis Alÿs, , Jim Campbell, Shaun Gladwell, Emre Hüner, Nina Katchadourian, Ali Kazma, Laleh Khorramian, Armin Linke, individuo Maddin, Rivane Neuenschwander, Ulrike Ottinger, Oursler Ton, Pipilotti Rist, Charles Sandison and Kiki Smith – will be on show at this exciting new exhibition.
For more information http://www.istanbulmodern.org/en/f_index.html
Nancy Guzman
For anybody interested in the future of art, and its relation to nature, this exhibition is a must-see. If you find yourself in Turkey´s capital, don´t forget to rent apartments in Istanbul for the best stay possible.
Translated by: Poppy
