bodies that wave / waves that embody

BODIES THAT WAVE / WAVES THAT EMBODY

2023-ongoing

Bodies that Wave / Waves that Embody
2023-ongoing
Series of video Installation & Lecture Performance
Print on fibre paper, 268 x 40cm, 3 Ed. + 1 A.P.

Based on the questions “How to perform a wave?” and “How to become a wave?” Mimiko invites the audience to explore the similarities between the rhythmic and fluid movements of waves, which are in a constant state of motion and change, and the rhythmic and fluid movements of the human body. Through the performative reading, Mimiko assumes that intentions can spread like waves, traversing time and space, and she aims to make the various waves traversing the human body visible by tracing their marks in water-bodies. “Bodies that wave / Waves that embody” draws attention to this correlation and pursues the question “What does it mean for the human body to be a wave?”

The first of the performative reading series was held in September 2023 as part of “Akan Beden Performans ve Konuşma Dizisi,” the second one in January 2024 at Galerie Analix Forever/Geneva and the third in June 2024 at Pilot Galeri/Istanbul.

bodies that wave

waves that embody

dalgalanan bedenler

bedenlenen dalgalar

les corps qui deviennent vagues

les ‘corps-vagues’

les vagues qui prennent corps

waves come

waves go

let them come

let them go

gentle waves

monster waves

ever-unfolding

silent waves

dead waves

those who died with the waves

waves as a map

waves as a feeling

becoming each and every wave

ocean waves

sound waves

electromagnetic waves

gravitational waves

seismic waves

pandemic waves

heat waves

migration waves

feminist waves

waves roll

crash

break

transgress

cities,

bodies,

memories,

wiped out

waves of intention

waves of separation

embodied waves

my waving body

drifting in the waves,

sinking,

rising

je crée des vagues,

avec mon corps,

dans mon corps.

je veux devenir cette vague

qui perpétuellement s’en vient

qui éternellement s’en va

toujours en mouvement

mais singulièrement à chaque fois.

une vague d’intention me frappe,

une intention posée pour battre,

pour se battre, pour me battre,

pour devenir forte

pour vaincre,

ne pas être vaincue

éviter le danger

se protéger

est-ce peut-être ce la signification de cette intention?

un coup,

de poing, de pied

explose dans dans mon corps

une vague de choc se propage

à travers mes os, ma peau, mes cellules adipeuses, mes nerfs, mon foie,

tout fluctue.

la transmission de cette intention,

me renverse,

me retourne à la position fœtale.

PERFORMANCE PHOTOS

Photo courtesy from left to right: Uğur Cinel, Emre Tarduş, Barbara Polla

egosurfing, 2023

EGOSURFING

2023

Egosurfing 2023, Polished brass, 40 x 15 x 0,5 cm, 3 Ed. + 1 A.P.

Egosurfing (2023) takes its name from a term coined by Sean Carton in 1995. First appearing as an entry in Gareth Branwyn’s March 1995 Wired magazine Jargon Watch column, the term refers to the practice of searching for one’s own name or nickname in a popular search engine and reviewing the results. Similarly, an “egosurfer” is defined as someone who searches for their own name on the Internet and wants to see what information appears.

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10th MEDIATIONS BIENNIAL, FESHANE ARTISTANBUL, 2023

Contemporary Istanbul, 2023

the 10-metre wave, 2023

THE 10-METRE WAVE

2023

The 10-metre wave 2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free paper, 150 x 1000 cm, unique

Waves come

Waves go

–

Let them come

Let them go

–

Gentle waves

Monster waves

–

Ever-unfolding

–

Silent waves

Dead waves

Those who died with the waves

–

Waves as a map

Waves as a feeling

–

Becoming each and every wave

–

The all-seeing

The all-knowing

The all-feeling wave

–

Becoming each and every wave

–

Ocean waves

Sound waves

Electromagnetic waves

Gravitational waves

Seismic waves

Pandemic waves

Heat waves

Migration waves

Feminist waves

Waves do not always come in pairs

Watch out for the rogue waves

–

Does knowing one wave mean knowing them all

–

Waves roll

Crash

Break

Transgress

–

A thought

A wave

In the universe

An intention set in the pluriverse

A wave in the multiverse

–

What of an ocean without waves

–

Why separate the ocean when we can share the waves

–

Divided oceans

Divided waves

–

Waves of separation

–

Wiped out

Cities,

Bodies,

Memories,

Wiped out

–

Deadly waves of your intentions

The slow violence of your explorations

Text written on ‘The 10-metre Wave’

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Waves of Intention, Pilot Galeri, 2023

dumping waves, 2023

DUMPING WAVES

2023

Dumping waves 2023, 5’8 inch Fishtail surfboard sculpture, plastic PET bottles and caps, plastic granules, epoxy resin, hemp thread, 176 x 6 x 55 cm, unique

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a thought, a wave in the universe, an intention set in the pluriverse, a ripple in the multiverse, 2023

A THOUGHT, A WAVE IN THE UNIVERSE

2023

A thought, a wave in the universe, an intention set in the pluriverse, a ripple in the multiverse 2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free cotton paper, 56 x 76 cm, unique

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Contemporary Istanbul, 2023

surfing plastic waves, dead corals scratching your face, 2023

SURFING PLASTIC WAVES, DEAD CORALS SCRATCHING YOUR FACE

2023

Surfing plastic waves, dead corals scratching your face, 2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free cotton paper, 56 x 76 cm, unique

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Waves of Intention, Pilot Galeri, 2023

gentle waves, monster waves, 2023

GENTLE WAVES, MONSTER WAVES

2023

Gentle waves, monster waves 2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free cotton paper, 56 x 76 cm, unique

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Waves of Intention, Pilot Galeri, 2023

deadly waves of your intentions, 2023

DEADLY WAVES OF YOUR INTENTIONS

2023

Deadly waves of your intentions 2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free cotton paper, 56 x 76 cm, unique

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commit to your wave, 2023

COMMIT TO YOUR WAVE

2023

Commit to your wave 2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free cotton paper, 56 x 76 cm, unique

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Waves of Intention, Pilot Galeri, 2023

corpuscules, 2020

CORPUSCULES

2020

Corpuscules 2020, Photography / Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle
paper, 45 x 60 cm, 3 Ed. + 1 A.P.

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photobasel, 2023

innergy (landscapes), 2019

INNERGY (landscapes)

2019-ongoing

Innergy 2019-ongoing, Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper, 3 + 1 Ed.

Innergy – Sardona Welterbe
2019, Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper, 3 + 1 Ed.

Innergy – Baikal
2019, Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper, 3 + 1 Ed.

Innergy – Shamanka
2019, Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper, 3 + 1 Ed.

Innergy – Mys Khoboy
2019, Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper, 3 + 1 Ed.

Innergy – La Jonction
2020, Archival pigment print on Hahnemühle paper, 3 + 1 Ed.

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waves of intention (video), 2023

WAVES OF INTENTION

2023

Waves of Intention
2023, 5’20, 4K video, sound, 3 Ed. + 1 A.P

Waves of Intention (2023) questions the nature and consequences of the act of ‘setting an intention’. Unlike a wish, an intention is a form of thought that carries active energy; it is a vector, it has a direction and contains the power to carry intentions in that direction. In this respect, an intention can also be considered as setting a thought into the flow, then committing to that flow. Untangling the red thread into the waves, Gözde Mimiko Türkkan refers to a shamanic ritual her grandmother used to perform. The red thread, which gets interwoven with the waves at sunrise, is thrown into the water with the intention to untie the knots that block the life flow of the person for whom the intention is set. While the motive behind this ritualistic action is a positive one, the consequences for marine ecology and ocean life are overlooked. In the video, a free-flow text about the possible consequences of humankind’s delusion of considering itself as the ‘master of the universe’ is given voice by a ‘text-to-speech’ AI, a technology that will perhaps reinforce these repercussions.

Watch on Vimeo (type: intentionalwaves)

Film Stills

Video Voice Over Text

Waves come,

Waves go.

Let them come,

Let them go.

–

Gentle waves

Monster waves

–

A thought,

A wave in the universe.

An intention set in the pluriverse,

A wave in the multiverse.

–

Entrusting intentions to the water,

To the flow, to the waves.

–

Can our intentions swell through ages and galaxies?

Do they break when they reach their intended shores?

Do they crash into anything on their way?

Do they collide?

–

Being deep under a wave,

Until its energy is drained.

–

Waves of entanglement.

Entangled intentions.

–

What intentions did our matrilines set for their future which led to our present?

What did our matrilines intend for our futures?

–

DNA waves.

–

Studying life onboard Captain Cook’s legacy.

Things that cannot be tracked on Google Earth.

Things imperialist measuring units cannot quantify.

–

The doom of conquerers and explorers.

–

If deadly is a wave,

If killer is a whale,

Then no words to describe your race.

–

Deadly waves of your intentions.

The slow violence of your explorations.

Those who died with the waves.

–

Pulling me from my ankle like the leash of my surfboard,

Intertwined,

The leash of my intentions

is floating, drowning.

–

Killer mammal,

Killer father of all.

The ones who dared to name them all.

–

Can you stop being explorers and conquerers?

–

Being one of the firsts, the mosts, the lasts, the furthests and the highests.

–

When will it ease?

When all heights conquered?

When all depths discovered?

When all land populated?

When all waves ridden?

–

Crawling between millions of tons of ice.

Fragile ice.

Crushed under a tsunami of ill-intentions.

Ill-waves.

–

Intentional waves

Trapped in permafrost.

Yet the day comes

When you shall

Breathe them

Imbued with methane.

–

Riding the waves of oil tankers,

Crashing with the lost containers of the great oceans.

–

Surfing plastic waves,

Dead corals scratching your face.

–

You are the light from a dead star.

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Bodrum Maritime Museum, 2024

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waves of likes on social media sites; hosted on privatised servers, online hate wipeouts, 2023

WAVES OF LIKES ON SOCIAL MEDIA SITES

2023

Waves of like on social media sites; hosted on privatised servers, online hate wipeouts
2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free cotton paper, 56 x 76 cm, unique

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waves of intention (project), 2023

WAVES OF INTENTION

2023

Over time, my practice has turned towards waves — as movement, as memory, as intention and energy across space and time. In waves, I find a language of motion that speaks both of rupture and rhythm, of coherence and chaos. They are not bound to any one body, but pass through many — human bodies, migrating bodies, emotional bodies, water bodies…

bodies that struggle

bodies that drown

bodies that float, that survive

bodies that ache

bodies that heal

bodies that kick, that knock over the rocks across millions of human years

bodies that endure

bodies that yearn

Waves can be seen, measured, felt, ridden — and yet they also escape our full grasp. They are the shape energy takes when movement occurs. From the physical swell of ocean waves to the intangible ripples of intentions, from migration and heat waves to feminist and birth waves, they reveal a world in motion — always flowing, always in relation.

bodies that flow

bodies that break

bodies that break free

I think of waves as carriers of innergy — the blend of inner force and energy that flows in, through, and between human and more-than-human beings. They offer a framework for representing and interpreting the world and relations in a more fluid, ever-changing, and non-binary way. This ongoing exploration is not just about watching observable waves, but about moving with them. My work with waves is a way to reflect on entanglement, to sense what connects bodies.

bodies that wave

waves that embody

Waves of Intention 2023 5’23, 4K video, sound 3 Ed. + 1 A.P
Watch on Vimeo
Type: intentionalwaves

Dumping Waves 5’8 inch Fishtail surfboard sculpture, plastic PET bottles and caps, plastic granules, epoxy resin, hemp thread, 176 x 6 x 55 cm

The 10-metre wave 2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free paper, 150 x 1000 cm, unique

Commit to your wave
2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free cotton paper, 56 x 76 cm, unique

Waves of likes on social media sites
2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free cotton paper, 56 x 76 cm, unique

Gentle waves, monster waves
2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free cotton paper, 56 x 76 cm, unique

Deadly waves of your intentions
2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free cotton paper, 56 x 76 cm, unique

Surfing plastic waves, dead corals scratching your face
2023, Acrylic ink on acid-free cotton paper, 56 x 76 cm, unique

kız gibi dövüş / fight like a girl, 2022

KIZ GIBI DÖVÜŞ / FIGHT LIKE A GIRL

2022

Kız gibi Dövüş / Fight Like a Girl
2022, performance & installation 1 Ed. + 1 A.P (Agah Uğur Collection)

In Muay Thai also known as Thai boxing, contradictions such as strength and vulnerability, rivalry and solidarity, courage and fear coexist. Creating a confrontation area for these supposed oppositions, combat sports also function as a transmission and sharing space in the lives of the most disadvantaged individuals of the society, who are subjected to sexism and discrimination both outside and inside the ring.

Mimiko, whose practice is based on observing, understanding, and experiencing the body, body identities and socially constructed identities, steps into the ring to face the writer and art critic Bihter Sabanoğlu. Believing that people rather choose a path with familiar hardships and pain in a life full of uncertainties, the artist transforms the combat sport, which she suggests some may perceive as a controlled simulation of life, into a performance. The performance is concerned with distorting perceptions of the body, particularly the societal view of women’s fragility, and reflects on the question “How can rivalry in a ring evolve into solidarity, and the need for self-defense into exploring the strength and capability of the body?” The manifesto / text read between the rounds touches upon the different states of being within and inside the ring as well as in life in relation to the expression ‘fight like a girl’.

To watch the video here vimeo.com/753826248, please type kzgbdvs

Bullet Valentina
Rowdy Ronda
Cupcake Miesha
Timebomb Tiffany
Pretty Killer Iman
Princess of ‘Payne’ Lucy
AK47 Amber
Supergirl Anna
Wondergirl Nat
Barbie Ekaterina
Lioness Amanda
Cyborg Cris
Iron Lady Germaine
Magnum Weili
Karate Hottie Michelle
Alfa Cathilee
Cookie monster Carla
Thug Rose
12 gauge Paige
Panda Jing Nan
Android 18 Anissa and Hirata
Hurricane Smilla
Snow Leopard Marie
Killer Bee Bi
Unstoppable Angela
Prodigy Victoria
Tiny Doll Rika
Indian Tigress Ritu
Beautiful Boxer Nong Toom
Iron Knee Nong Rose

You fight like a girl,” they say.
Those who fight like a young girl, as adult women, as queer, as the exploited, the abused…

Those in the ring, in fact,
Those realising their childhood dreams,
Those yearning to be the strongest, the best.
Those who fight to beat poverty,
Those supporting their families well before puberty.
Those who take a break to bear children,
Those who breastfeed between trainings.
Those who fight to raise their children.
Those who squash their anger down,
Those who pour their anger out,
Those fighting to survive the abuse,
Those abused as fighters.
Those saving money for gender reassignment surgery,
Those bound to hide their sexual orientation.
Those crawling into the ring under the ropes because they are deemed heathens,
Those kneeling down by the side of their knocked out opponent,
Those who wipe both their own and their opponent’s blood from their faces when the fight is over.
Those oppressed by their family, social pressure or bullying.
Those who starve, forgoing even water in order to lose weight,
Those unable to find sponsors because they are not athletic-looking,
Those unable to gain followers because they are deemed unattractive.
Those who are booed because they don’t fight aggressively.
Those disrupted by their hormonal cycle,
Those who miss weight because they are menstruating.
Those fighting assumed opposite-sex children in their village because there are no supposed same-sex rivals left.
Those who want to protect themselves on the street and at home…

If getting into the ring is a rehearsal for life,
There are rules here in the ring.
Whereas in life…
…everyone has a plan,
until they get punched in the face.

“Shoot the women first,” they say.
“Hit the women first,” wouldn’t they mean?
First the ones considered different and vulnerable?

When I attack with all my being,
Is it self-defense?
Or self-offense?

Train hard,
Fight easy.
Entering the ring,
Opposing glimpses,
Hit me in the eyes.
Fighting from opposite corners.
With the other,
With yourself.

Pay-per-view
Is turned on.
In the stadium,
Bets are on.

Eagerly they await,
Who beats whom?

Iron wrist,
Sharpened elbow.
Shin to shin kicks,
To numb the nerves.

What’s the meaning of defeat here?
What’s the meaning of loss?

“Be like water,” says Bruce Lee.
Yet there are also waves that knock over the rocks.
“Kick to chop a tree in half,” others say.
They hit as if to pierce my stomach,
Expecting me to do the same in the ring.
“Model execution.”

“Blood, sweat and tears,” they say.
Whose tears,
Where is my blood flowing from?

“Muscle Memory”,
The memory of all the individuals
Subject to generations of violence.

“No pain, no gain,” they say.
Who pain?
Whose gain?

Here we are in the ring,
In the corners.
If that’s your pleasure,
We shall swap places with a ring girl,
Sending kisses with her filled lips.

Our kicks,
Not meant for your entertainment,
But to protect ourselves,
And just because we want to.
After all, there is freedom in knowing how to kick.

We are
Neither the movie goddess tossing her blow-dried hair, fighting in her high-heels,
Nor the slender female warrior in fantasies,
Nor the lover you imagine could beat you up.

Throwing a punch as an act of care.
A form of consensual violence, as one might say.
I chose my safe word.
If I say it, will we stop hitting each other?

Against the same potential threat,
As we learn to fight by repeating over and over,
We were made to confront each other
Rather than stand side by side.

Would compassion,
Allow for solidarity?
To stand side by side,
Let’s allow the shared experience of our bodies lead the way.
Can we start in this fighting ring?

Can we understand each other through fighting?
Can we thus stand together?

Fighting in solidarity,
Acting in solidarity to become stronger,
Becoming stronger to fight.

Mermi Valentina
Zorba Ronda
Cupcake Miesha
Saatli bomba Tiffany
Alımlı katil Iman
Acının prensesi Lucy
Kalaşnikof Amber
Supergirl Anna
Wondergirl Nat
Barbie bebek Ekaterina
Dişi aslan Amanda
Cyborg Cris
Demir lady Germaine
Magnum Weili
Ateşli karateci Michelle
Alfa Cathilee
Kurabiye canavarı Carla
Haydut Rose
12 kalibre Paige
Panda Jing Nan
Android 18 Anissa ve Hirata
Kasırga Smilla
Kar leoparı Marie
Katil arı Bi
Durdurulamaz Angela
Dahi Victoria
Minyon bebek Rika
Dişi Hint kaplanı Ritu
Güzel boksör Nong Toom
Demir diz Nong Rose

“Kız gibi dövüşüyorsun” derler.
Kız çocuğu gibi dövüşenler, yetişkin kadın gibi, kuir gibi, sömürülenler, istismar edilenler gibi dövüşenler.

Aslında ringdekiler;
Küçüklük hayalini gerçekleştirenler,
En güçlü, en iyi olmak isteyenler.
Yokluk ve yoksulluktan çıkış yolu olarak dövüşenler,
Henüz ilkokuldayken ailesini geçindirenler.
Çocuk doğurmak için ara verenler,
Antrenman arasında emzirenler.
Çocuğunu büyütmek için dövüşenler.
Öfkesini içine atanlar,
Öfkesini dışarı akıtanlar,
İstismarı atlatmak için dövüşenler,
Dövüşçüyken taciz deneyimleyenler.
Cinsiyet değiştirme ameliyatı için para biriktirenler,
Cinsel yönelimini gizlemek zorunda kalanlar.
Ringe, kutsallığını bozduğuna inanıldığı için iplerin en altından sürünerek girenler,
Nakavt ettiği ve yerde baygın yatan rakibinin başında bekleyenler,
Dövüş bittiğinde yüzünden hem kendi hem rakibinin kanını silenler.
Aile veya toplum baskısı, akran zorbalığı görenler.
Siklet düşmek için aç ve susuz kalanlar,
Atletik görünmedikleri için sponsor bulamayanlar,
Çekici bulunmadıkları için takipçisi olmayanlar.
Saldırgan dövüşmediği için seyirci tarafından yuhalananlar.
Hormonal döngüsünü kontrol etmekte zorlananlar,
Regl oldukları için tartıyı tutturamayanlar.
Köyünde, varsayılan hemcins rakibi kalmadığı için varsayılan karşı cins çocuklarla dövüşenler.
Kendini sokakta ve evde korumak isteyenler…

Hayatın bir provası olarak ringe girmekse,
Kurallar var ringde.
Hayatın içindeyse…
…herkesin bir planı var,
Yumruk yiyene kadar.

“Önce kadınları vurun” derler.
“Önce kadınlara vurun” mudur yoksa?
Önce farklı ve zayıf gördüklerine?

Tüm benliğimle saldırdığımda,
Nefs-i müdafaa mı,
Nefs-i taarruz mudur?

Sıkı çalış,
Kolay dövüş.
Ringe girerken
Karşı açıdan bakış.
Vurur gibi gözlerimin içine.
Karşı köşelerden mücadele.
Ötekiyle,
Kendinle.

Televizyonda
İzle ve Öde,
Stadyumdaysa
Bahse girenlerle.

Merakla beklerler,
Kim kimi döver?

Demir bilek,
Keskin dirsek.
Hissizleşsin sinirler diye,
Kaval kavala tekme.

Burada yenmek ne demek?
Yenilmek ne demek?

“Su gibi ol” der Bruce Lee.
Kayaları deviren dalgalar da var tabii.
“Ağacı ikiye bölecek gibi tekmele” der diğerleri.
Delecek gibi vururlar midemi,
Aynısını ringde yapmam için.
“Örnek uygulama.”

“Kan, ter, gözyaşı“ derler.
Kimin gözyaşı,
Neremden akan kan?

“Kas hafızası”,
Şiddet uygulanan nesillerin,
Tüm bireylerinin hatırası.

“Acı yoksa, kazanç da yok” derler.
Kimin acısı,
Kimlerin kazancı?

Ringdeyiz,
Köşedeyiz,
Tercih edersen
Dolgulu dudaklardan öpücük gönderen
Bir ring girl ile yer değiştirebiliriz.

Tekmelerimiz
Eğlencen için değil,
Kendimizi korumak için,
Ve sadece istediğimiz için.
Tekme atabilmekte özgürlük var nihayetinde.

Filmlerde gördüğün açık saçlarını savurarak, topuklu ayakkabılarıyla dövüşen tanrıça,
Fantezilerdeki ince belli dişi savaşçı,
Seni dövebileceğini hayal ettiğin sevgili değiliz.

Özen gösterme eylemi olarak yumruk atmak.
Rızaya dayalı şiddet bir nevi.
Güvenli kelimemi seçtim.
Söylersem, birbirimize vurmayı keser miyiz?

Defalarca tekrar ederek,
Aynı olası tehdite karşı öğrenirken dövüşmeyi,
Yan yana değil,
Karşı karşıya getirildik.

Halden anlamak,
Yan yana gelmemizi sağlar mı?

Yan yana durmak için,
Bedenlerimizin ortak deneyiminin yol göstermesine izin versek.
Buna dövüş ringinden başlayabilir miyiz?

Dövüşerek birbirimizi anlayabilir,
Dayanışabilir miyiz?

Dövüşerek dayanışmak,
Dayanışarak güçlenmek,
Güçlenerek dövüşmek.

Related Exhibitions

Your Body Is a Battleground

Agah Uğur Collection / group show curated by Halil Altındere, 9 Sep – 31 Oct 2022, Istanbul/TR

earth fight, 2022

EARTH FIGHT

2022

Earth Fight
2022, 4’52, 4K video, sound, 3 Ed. + 1 A.P

Floods, landslides, wildfires, drought… Damages that arise as a result of natural processes, profit-centred decisions, human errors or overly intrusive interventions made in an effort to repair in the aftermath… ‘Earth Fight’ reflects on these entanglements as climate emergencies are declared worldwide.

Watch on Vimeo Type: rthfght or watch on LOOP Barcelona’s platform.

Film Stills

Earth Fight – Ground & Pound Jab
2022, Photography / Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle paper, 50 x 66 cm, 3 Ed. + 1 A.P

Earth Fight – Ground & Pound Punch
2022, Photography / Archival Pigment Print on Hahnemühle paper, 50 x 66 cm, 3 Ed. + 1 A.P

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La Mer, La Terre et le Sel

Tierra Carbon Biennale 1

Ptolemaida/Greece, 2024

Resident Soils

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Giunglia Festival

Lucca/Italy, 2024

LOOP Fair Barcelona

Almanac Hotel, Barcelona/Spain, 2023

imagespassages 'Cómo bailar en tiempo de crisis'

macLyon, Lyon/France, 2023

10th MEDIATIONS BIENNIAL

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Waves of Intention

Pilot Galeri, Istanbul/Turkey, 2023

Enchanter la Terre

Chateau du Rivau, Léméré/France, 2023

Contemporary Istanbul '22

Tersane, Istanbul/Turkey 2022

innergy / watery incantations, 2021

INNERGY / WATERY INCANTATIONS

2021

Innergy / Watery Incantations
2021, 12’23, 3-channel 4K video, sound, 3 Ed. + 2 A.P.

“Innergy / Watery Incantations” aims to explore the different states of water in different regions by focusing on “flow”. In the work that Mimiko completed in a period of two and a half years, the audio recorded on the “water” images that she shot in 7 different regions (Lake Baikal, Bali, Portuguese shores, Venice, Geneva, Swiss Alps, Turkey) deals with the boundaries, depth, memory and change of consciousness through the relationship between human and water. Proceeding in a flow that the artist refers to as “thinking with water”, the video leads the viewer to imagine the movement/consciousness of the water inside their body.

This project was supported by SAHA within the scope of Covid-19 Sustainability Fund.

To watch on Vimeo, please type nnrgy

Film Stills & Details

Video Voice Over Text

Once upon a time long, long gone,

In a distant past whose very existence is doubtful…

Thereafter in a vague future forthcoming,

Without a single word spoken,

Without a single idea conceived.

A moment of extreme tenderness.

A movement of pure ﬂow.

Ancient cycles

Unknowable timelines

Water ﬂows.

Water’s ﬂow.

Water doesn’t search for its ﬂow.

Water doesn’t doubt it can ﬂow.

Water knows its ﬂow.

Water knows it ﬂows.

Water ﬂows

Intently

No sign

No sight

No sound of

Those who believed they were created to man the universe

Silence

Silence in my consciousness

Where does the ocean go?

Where does the ocean come from?

The Ocean of my consciousness

A timeline on its own

An ancient timeline

ancient data

A carrier of ancient data

How deep is the ocean?

Unknown and unknowable

How deep is our consciousness?

So many names have been given.

You have been called in

Or cried out by so many names.

You haven’t forgotten.

You remember them all.

Mother Ocean you are called.

A mother you are in our eyes.

Loving, nourishing, accepting

Yet also violently punishing.

A mother assumed to be conquered,

needing to be saved at the present time.

Other sets of eyes in an unknown timeline laid on you,

Saw Father Ocean in you.

One that opens new worlds up, gives us courage.

A mighty one,

Also domineering, destructive,

and at times neglecting.

But you are the embodiment of the flow,

of the flux.

A Reminder of our flowing nature, of our undetermined,

ever-changing, ever flowing identity.

It is time we understand

Your true nature

Your inner Energy

Neither a Mother

Nor a Father

You are the flow of

All there is

All there was

All there ever will be

Only a fragment of you can be seen,

Only a fraction of your being at a time.

What if you were to be perceived through all eyes that see you,

through all limbs that touch you?

Submerged,

I feel you through every cell of my skin.

I desire to feel you through every curvature of my consciousness.

Is this mutual?

Do you already feel

Every and each of us?

You fill the ancient,

Untouched, unseen abysses.

I imagine the highest peaks becoming small islands,

as you flow all around.

I dream of those future days,

And I remember the past ones

You know all the human languages

Spoken once upon a time

Spoken now

And spoken henceforth.

How did we reduce you to a body to be conquered?

How did we divide you?

Do you still bear the fear embedded in the consciousness of those who sunk under fire,

in anger?

Memories of human bodies sinking in fear.

Thinking with water

Flowing with ancient data

Breath swelling with the undulations

Heart pulsating with the waves

Mind resonating with the tides

The rumbling of the waves

The pulsation in my veins

Where does my body end?

Where do our bodies end?

And where do you begin?

Where do yours begin?

Water in the body.

Water bodies.

Water in my body.

Can my body move like the ocean?

Can it flow as such?

Can I breathe like water,

Such as the ocean swells?

With ease,

With the rhythm of the flux.

The ocean of my consciousness

is a drop in the ocean of

All there is

All there was

All there ever will be.

Related Exhibitions

Waves of Intention

Pilot Galeri, Istanbul/Turkey, 2023

(LEAVING) THE HOUSE WHERE WE GREW UP

Monitor, Izmir/Turkey, 2022

Witness of the Flow

Cendere Art Museum, Istanbul/Turkey, 2022

What Water Knows

Pilot Galeri, Istanbul/Turkey, 2022

Water Paintings

Galerie Analix Forever, Geneva/Switzerland, 2022

In Memoriam

Campus Biotech, Nov 2021
Geneva/Switzerland

how to destroy an artwork, 2021

HOW TO DESTROY AN ARTWORK

2021

How to Destroy an Artwork
2021, 2’25, 4K video, sound, 3 Ed. + 1 A.P

The video performance work ‘How To Destroy an Artwork’ (2021) takes roots in Gözde Mimiko Türkkan’s decision to destroy her old photography editions exhibited in various art institutions over the years. Facilitated by their reproducible nature, it is not unheard of that photography editions may be destroyed and reproduced in case of damage during their life cycle which consists of exhibiting, transporting, storing. However this cycle, which lasted more than ten years in regards to the editions seen in ‘How To Destroy an Artwork’, triggered a desire for self confrontation. The artist smashes, hammers and kicks her own photography editions on different occasions and she invites an audience to watch some of the performances. On one hand this act of destruction frees up physical and mental space; on the other it creates a relieving effect as much as it contains violence. This work which was initiated a few months prior to the coronavirus pandemic, turns into a catharsis as the frustration caused by the pandemic itself creeps in.

Watch on Vimeo Type: htdaa

Related Exhibitions

'LOVE BOMBING, GASLIGHTING' VideoInsight Foundation

Torino/Italy, 2022

photobasel 2022

Basel/Switzerland, 2022

The Colossus of Rhodes

Geneva/Switzerland, 2022

Contemporary Istanbul '21

Tersane, Istanbul/Turkey, 2021

innergy, 2019 – ongoing

INNERGY

2019 - Ongoing

Innergy
2019 – Ongoing
Photography Prints on Archival Fine Art Paper, 3 Ed. + 1 A.P.

Mimiko Türkkan, who has photographed worlds of nightlife, sex and boxing, presents a new photographic series allusively representing women expressing the “uncanny energy”. Mimiko is interested in women who have “powers” and the artist develops, for this exhibition, a new concept: Innergy. She is looking for and pictures this inner energy that makes the power of women – and others.

I know who I am, I know the Other.
I know,
I remember;
The flux,
The being,
The flesh,
The ocean and the earth.