Manifesto

This exhibition represents the use of a linear and plastic language in the reproduction of the bombardment of intertwined images, dropping one after the other in a manner too familiar in today’s world.

The paintings find their basis in a new visual truth. The concept of truth emanating from any effort is, in fact, but a reflection shaped through the creator’s own perspective and based only on their perceptions. This plastic exploration, as well as the perception and reality built by it, is tied to the concept of ‘Post Truth’, emphasised also by Steve Tesich, which again rises on a foundation of individual perception in our age.

Social media has garnered such immense power today that any piece of information or any image released through it is accepted readily, without question, as if they were bound to be real and factual, resulting, in turn, in the gradual greying of objective reality as a concept, which has, admittedly, been through a process of constant change since the beginning, slipping individuals by and evolving through manipulations in every age. Thus, any effort, albeit extended in a quest for truth, is inherently characterised by change owing to the living and shifting nature of truth. The plastic configuration engendered by the paintings calls the viewers into this reproduced reality through memories of a city, mostly of Istanbul in fact. The study is on a quest for the concept of reality in arts encircled in a world presenting illusions as truth. Accordingly, the images are presented as a means to create a new expression independent from real images; they are stripped of any propaganda or cliché and left entirely to the perceptions of the viewer. Any image rising as a challenge to realistic narration should inevitably aim for originality and challenge the pedestal reserved by the society for realism. The liberation of objects from visual reality is a step towards their liberation from a dictated association with imitation. The reasoning behind the production of the paintings is grounded in an intrinsic urge for construction and this reasoning finds its foundations in a new constructivist endeavour rather than the set of images dictated by modern culture. The aim here is to remove the perspective from the distinct sense of art built solely on design culture. Contemporary aesthetics enjoys more freedom after liberating itself from perfectionism and set rules, yet it is still under the control of capitalism in practice. Therefore, the current age is characterised by an aesthetic perception that blends arts and industry together. In fact, the aesthetic perception of today seeks instantaneous images and fast and powerful expressions in technically assisted installations, ultimately aiming to shock viewers with a banana taped on a wall. However, this relentless quest brings about the gradual disappearance of humane production in arts today. In a critical response to this phenomenon, the texture of plastic paint, explored separately in the works, preserves the human-made structure. This exhibition is, therefore, significant for the continuity of humane production, which appears to be heading towards total disappearance in the face of current technological and scientific advances.

This exhibition is an adventure into the process of creating a plastic language and an effort to act as a reference for arts, i.e. the common essence of all humans, to raise social awareness.

Damla Can Koç
Ankara, 2020