Imagine: Selected works on food 2002-2012
Nezaket EKICI
2012-11-29 _ 2012-12-29
Nezaket Ekici was at Pi Artworks Galatasaray and Pi Artworks Tophane with her solo exhibition “Imagine: Selected works on food 2002-2012” curated by Derya Yücel, between the dates November 29th – December 29th, 2012. The artist presented her performance titled “Imagine” at Pi Artworks Tophane.
The exhibition presented a selection of the performances of Nezaket Ekici that she produced between the years 2002-2012, around the theme of food within her artistic practice. With her video works, photographs and the performane “Imagine”, Ekici does not only creates a strong and poetic aesthetical space with the images of food; but also gives the audience the opportunity to imagine/think in a larger perspective.
“(...) From the cave paintings of Paleolithic Era to the still lives of the 17th century, from the discovery tool to the ‘Identical Lunch’es of Fluxus; the theme of food is often dealed in the practice of art. In contemporary art food is an artistic medium and it might provide the artists to express their feelings and ideas in a stronger way that the traditional artistic practices. (...) In Nezaket Ekici’s perfromances pointing out the individual/social intersections and distinctions ‘Food’ exists as a strong symbol intended for the issues of belief/ritual, fear/pain, life/death, consumption/justice, permanence/temporariness art history.” Derya Yücel, 2012, İstanbul
Nezaket Ekici is a widely recognized performance artist, born in Turkey and raised in Germany where she currently lives. From 1994 to 2000 she studied Art Pedagogy, Art History and Sculpture at Ludwig Maximilians University and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. From 2001 to 2004 she studied Performance Art with the Professor Marina Abramovic at Hochschule der Bildenden Kunste Braunschweig. Nezaket Ekici has made solo exhibitions in several cities such as Berlin, New York, Toronto, Madrid, Milano and her works have been presented in museums, international festivals, biennials, galleries and various kinds of events around the world including: Museum der Dinge (Berlin, Germany, 2012), Esjberg Kunstmuseum (Copenhagen, Denmark, 2012), Institut of Contemporary Arts Singapore (Singapore, 2012), Istanbul Modern (Istanbul, 2011 ve 2009), Cobra Museum(Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2011), Boghossian Foundation (Brussels, Belgium, 2011), Museum Alex Mylona (Athens, Greece, 2010), Triennale Bovisa Museum (Milano, Italy, 2008), Taipei Museum of Contemporary Arts (Taiwan, 2007) and Reina Sofia Museum (Madrid, Spain, 2005). Besides the various biennials, the artist participated in 2003 and 2007 Venice Biennials. Some of the collections including Ekici’s works are GASAG Aktiengesellschaft Berlin, Proje 4L Elgiz Museum of Contemporary Art (Istanbul), Culturale Pamplona (Spains), Montreal Museum of Fine Arts (Canada), Culturale Pamplona, Kunstmuseum Heidenheim, Marta Herford Museum, Foundation Frances (Senlis) and Koç Foundation (Istanbul). For the solo exhibition titled “Personal Map: to be Continued” she made at Marta Herford Museum in 2011, her artist book with the same title was published by Marta Herford Museum and Kerber Publications.