Alchemizing the trans-latent: Sümer Erek’s socially engaged art in the contemporary gallery

Authors

  • Esra Plumer Bardak Arkin University of Creative Art and Design

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1344/regac2019.1.13

Keywords:

migración, arte socialmente comprometido, pérdida, arte contemporáneo, estética, migration, socially engaged art, loss, contemporary art, aesthetics

Abstract

Este artículo es una exploración de cómo los procesos artísticos comprometidos socialmente se manifiestan en las instalaciones transnacionales de arte contemporáneo en la obra del artista chipriota Sümer Erek. Conocido por sus proyectos participativos a gran escala, como Newspaper House (2008), el trabajo de Erek a menudo involucra el compromiso a través de interacciones directas y el diálogo con los participantes. Las experiencias generales se traducen en instalaciones multimedia inmersivas, donde Erek convierte las experiencias en una exploración y un viaje del yo. 

Tomando como punto de partida la interpretación de Giorgio Agamben de la estética hegeliana, el trabajo de Erek se considera a la luz del efecto de mejora de los proyectos colectivos no solo a nivel comunitario sino que se extiende más allá, aprovechando el trauma y la experiencia personal latente del artista y la pérdida. Centrándose en los dos proyectos Footnotes (1999–2000) y Visibility / Invisibility (2002), el texto tratará la dialéctica entre arte socialmente comprometido y estética artística contemporánea en los contextos de una galería comercial, cuestionando el papel potencial de las prácticas socialmente comprometidas a través de un viaje en la auto-reflexión.

 

This paper is an exploration of how socially engaged art processes manifest themselves in transnational contemporary art installations in the work of Cypriot artist Sümer Erek. Known for his large scale participatory projects, such as Newspaper House (2008), Erek’s work often involves engagement through one–on–one interactions and dialogue with participants. The overall experiences are translated into immersive multi-media installations, where Erek alchemizes experiences into an exploration and journey of the self. 

Taking up Giorgio Agamben’s interpretation of Hegelian aesthetics as a starting point, Sümer Erek’s work is considered in light of the ameliorative effect of collective projects not only at the community level, but as one that extends beyond, tapping into the artist’s personal latent trauma and experience of loss. Focusing on the two projects Footnotes (1999–2000) and Visibility/Invisibility (2002), the paper will discuss the dialectics of socially engaged art and contemporary art aesthetics in the contexts of a commercial gallery, questioning the potential role of socially engaged practices in the artists’ journey in self-reflectivity. 

Author Biography

Esra Plumer Bardak, Arkin University of Creative Art and Design

Head of Department 

Department of Plastic Arts, Faculty of Art

Assistant Professor Dr. Esra Plumer Bardak completed her PhD in Art history at the University of Nottingham in 2012 and has lectured in several institutions since. She is an active member of NGO art associations in Cyprus and carries out independent research alongside collaborative projects. Her most recent publications include the monographic book “Unica Zurn: Art, Writing and Post-war Surrealism” (IB Tauris, 2016) and “From narration to dialogue? Thinking about the way we talk about contemporary visual art in the Turkish Cypriot Community”, in the upcoming book Contemporary art from Cyprus: Politics, identity and transcultural artistic production (IB Tauris Publishers, 2019).

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Published

2019-12-09