Artist: Ahmet Öğüt
Exhibition title: No Protest Lost
Curated by: Henriette Bretton-Meyer
Venue: Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, Denmark
Date: December 7, 2017 – February 18, 2018
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists and Kunsthal Charlottenborg
Collective memory, local history and cultural identity are among the subjects addressed by Kurdish artist Ahmet Öğüt (b. 1981 in Turkey) in striking, ambitious projects that take the measure of contemporary society.
Combining a keen critical sensibility with a tongue-in-cheek approach, Öğüt presents complex issues in works that range from sculpture and lm to installation and performance art and onwards to staged events that invite audiences to take part.
The solo show at Kunsthal Charlottenborg presents a wide range of Öğüt’s poignantly incisive works that have never been on display in Scandinavia before. Öğüt will also exhibit an entirely new work: a bronze monument commemorating the Internet activist Aaron Swartz (1986–2013), who right up until his death continued to ght against mass surveillance and for the freedom of online culture.
Ahmet Öğüt has exhibited his work throughout the world at illustrious venues such as the Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven; Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia, Adelaide; Witte de With Centre for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam; Kunsthalle Lissabon; and Künstlerhaus Bremen.
Ahmet Öğüt, “Bakunin’s Barricade”, 2015/2017. Installation view: ‘No Protest Lost’, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, 2017. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Ahmet Öğüt, “Fahrenheit 451: Reprinted”, 2013. Installation view: ‘No Protest Lost’, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, 2017. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Ahmet Öğüt, “United” (2016) + “Inside the Fortress” (2017). Installation view: ‘No Protest Lost’, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, 2017. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Ahmet Öğüt, “United” (2016) + “Inside the Fortress” (2017). Installation view: ‘No Protest Lost’, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, 2017. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Ahmet Öğüt, “United”, 2016. Installation view: ‘No Protest Lost’, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, 2017. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Ahmet Öğüt, “The Swinging Doors”, 2009/2017. Installation view: ‘No Protest Lost’, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, 2017. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Ahmet Öğüt, “Oscar William Sam” (2012) + “The Swinging Doors” (2009/2017). Installation view: ‘No Protest Lost’, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, 2017. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Ahmet Öğüt, “Information Power to the People” (2017) + “Oscar William Sam” (2012) + “The Swinging Doors” (2009/2017). Installation view: ‘No Protest Lost’, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, 2017. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Ahmet Öğüt, “Information Power to the People”, 2017. Bronze sculpture. Co-produced by Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam and Kunsthal Charlottenborg. Installation view: ‘No Protest Lost’, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, 2017. Photo by David Stjernholm.
Ahmet Öğüt, “Information Power to the People”, 2017. Bronze sculpture. Co-produced by Witte de With Center for Contemporary Art, Rotterdam and Kunsthal Charlottenborg. Installation view: ‘No Protest Lost’, Kunsthal Charlottenborg, 2017. Photo by David Stjernholm.