A selection from Halil Altındere’s works in the last three years, is exhibited at the historic Sadık Pasha Mansion located in Cihangir. The exhibition entitled “Welcome to Homeland”, curated by DAS Art Project, will showcase Altındere’s works in different mediums such as video, oil painting, installation and sculpture, which were not exhibited in Turkey before. Spreading over two floors of the historic mansion dating back to 19th century, the exhibition can be visited until October 21.
Built during the 19th century by Sadık Pasha, who is known as Mikhail Chaikovsky and renowned as one of the founders of Polonezköy; hosted various language schools and the Consulate General of Japan throughout the history; the mansion currently hosts the “Welcome to Homeland” exhibition. Collaborated with Das Art Project, a young team that organizes independent exhibitions in historical places that gained a seat in the urban memory of Istanbul, Altındere’s characters are presented a roof with the Sadık Pasha Mansion, which will ask questions about complete homelessness. In “Welcome to Homeland” exhibition, visitors will be able to step into the unique universe of Halil Altındere and experience his works focusing on the “refugee” crisis, which he confronts with a dark humor and immediacy.
Narrating the issues he tackles through primary witnesses and mediating to their stories; the artist has worked with people from different identities solely for this exhibition and focused on their stories of “migration”. Exhibited in New York and Berlin and embodied more than twenty pieces of work, his “Space Refugee” installation is asking a crucial question about immigration, the most profound problem of today’s world; through the Syrian astronaut Muhammad Faris who is living as a refugee in Turkey: “If no one wants refugees, should we send them to Mars?”
Focusing on video works in recent years, Altındere once again addresses the refugee crisis in his “Homeland” video, which was screened last year as the most powerful work at the Berlin Biennial, later displayed in 20 other countries including Japan and New Zealand. Along with the rap song written and sung by the Syrian hip hop artist Abu Hajar who currently lives in Berlin, the migration routes of refugees are tracked from Syria to Turkey, the Mediterranean, the Balkans and Germany. Köfte Airlines, his photographic work which was created to be exhibited at the HAU Theater in Berlin, gains attention for the free movement rights of refugees.
The exhibition is not merely a summary of Halil Altındere’s last few years of art practices within the theme; but also a summary of the most serious subject of the present day. In the universe of Halil Altındere, we see the repetitions which we are familiar with the plays of Beckett and the absurdity which renders the audience a part of the play. However, his actors are real people. Although the conversion of an astronaut into a refugee seems like a fiction created by Halil Altındere, everything we watch is crucially real.
