Artist: Aykan Safoğlu
Exhibition title: I’ll be your mirror
Curated by: Vincent Schier
Venue: Kunstverein Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
Date: October 17 – December 12, 2021
Photography: All works courtesy the artist. Images by Hannes Wiedemann, © Kunstverein Göttingen
Dear media representatives and editors, dear colleagues,
we are pleased to invite you to the exhibition I’ll be your mirror by Aykan Safoğlu. I’ll be your mirror is the last exhibition of Kunstverein Göttingen in 2021 and also marks the conclusion of the annual theme BODY[SPACE]TIME.
We appreciate your interest in the exhibition and would also like to invite you to the opening on October 17, 2021 at 11:30 am
The exhibition I’ll be your mirror follows the life, migration and family history of Aykan Safoğlu. The year 2008 is the starting point of the exhibition — it’s the year in which the artist moved from Istanbul to Berlin. From there, the exhibition weaves video essays, installations and photographs into a variety of stories that thematize migration, heroes of the past, remembrance work and history, describing both historical facts and individual experiences. Within this frame, Safoğlu draws on the stories of his aunt Zerrin and uncle Hüseyin, who migrated from Turkey to Germany in the 1960s; describes his own youth in Istanbul, where he attended a German school; and talks, for example, about the writer James Baldwin, who lived in Turkey from time to time. In his video works, Safoğlu places fragments of these stories in relation to one another, making them visible or exposing them, so that they stand in the foreground […]
I’ll be your mirror is an invitation to immerse oneself in the history of Safoğlu and his companions, offering, at the same time, a starting point to reflect on one’s own experiences and personal memories.
Aykan Safoğlu (*1984, Istanbul / TUR) lives and works in Vienna, Berlin and Istanbul. He is a PhD student at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna and has studied in Istanbul, Berlin and New York. Aykan Safoğlu has participated in many international exhibitions and biennales, including Berlin Biennale (2020), among others, and has had solo exhibitions in Sweden, Austria and Turkey. I’ll be your mirror is the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition in Germany.
Aykan Safoğlu, I’ll be your mirror, 2021, exhibition view, Kunstverein Göttingen. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist., Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, I’ll be your mirror, 2021, exhibition view, Kunstverein Göttingen. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist., Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Freiheit statt Angst, 11. Oktober 2008 (2020) / detail, Digital print on photographic paper (matte), 105 x 722 cm. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist., Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, ziyaret, visit (2019) , Essay film, 12:30 min. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Untitled (Gülşen and Hüseyin) (2015), Two-channel video installation, 13:10 min. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Hundsstern steigt ab [Dog Star Descending] (2020), Essay film, 12:00 min. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Hundsstern steigt ab [Dog Star Descending] (2020), Essay film, 12:00 min. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Untitled (3 Polaroids for ziyaret, visit) (2019), Polaroids (framed), 34,7 x 16,7 cm. Courtesy Todd Sekuler. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Aunt Yellow (2021) / detail, Essay work, Digital print on paper, dimensions variable. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Aunt Yellow (2021) / detail, Essay work, Digital print on paper, dimensions variable. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Aunt Yellow (2021) / detail, Essay work, Digital print on paper, dimensions variable. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Aunt Yellow (2021) / detail, Essay work, Digital print on paper, dimensions variable. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, I’ll be your mirror, 2021, exhibition view, Kunstverein Göttingen. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist., Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, I’ll be your mirror, 2021, exhibition view, Kunstverein Göttingen. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist., Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, I’ll be your mirror, 2021, exhibition view, Kunstverein Göttingen. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist., Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Alphabets (Variation 1) (2021), Color print on paper, dimensions variable. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, I’ll be your mirror, 2021, exhibition view, Kunstverein Göttingen. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist., Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Aunt Yellow (2021) / detail, Essay work, Digital print on paper, dimensions variable. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedeman
Aykan Safoğlu, Letters (Aykan&Joe) (2017). Two-channel video installation, 23:00 min. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Untitled (Sweat Series) (2012-2017). Color print on metallic paper on aluminum dibond, 60 x 40 cm. Courtesy Koray Yilmaz-Günay. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Dreams Revolving (Athens-Istanbul, May 4-7, 2006) (2020) / detail. Digital print on wallpaper, dimensions variable. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Dreams Revolving (Athens-Istanbul, May 4-7, 2006) (2020) / detail. Digital print on wallpaper, dimensions variable. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann
Aykan Safoğlu, Dreams Revolving (Athens-Istanbul, May 4-7, 2006) (2020) / detail. Digital print on wallpaper, dimensions variable. Courtesy THE PILL and the artist. Photo: Hannes Wiedemann