HE WAS WORKING ON A PROJECT IN ORDER TO OPEN A WATERMELON EXHIBITION

SALT Galata

A series of installations, performances and a talk-marathon will take place on June 2-3, as part of HE WAS WORKING ON A PROJECT IN ORDER TO OPEN A WATERMELON EXHIBITION*, a project run by Didem Özbek at SALT Galata on Sundays that started on May 20.

This project aims to question the presence of an artist; how s/he positions herself/himself during the creation, production, exhibition and sales processes of an artwork, and the professional relationships s/he needs to build, through the reconstruction of Sait Faik Abasıyanık’s story Bir Karpuz Sergisi [A Watermelon Exhibition].

Following the quote “He was working on a project in order to open a watermelon exhibition”, that appeared in a story published for first time in Kurun newspaper on May 20, 1936 (Wednesday), Özbek’s investigation developed over re-publishing the newspaper on May 20, 2012 (Sunday) as part of this project. This reproduction, with an intervention made by Özbek to associate it with recent agenda, has 1000 copies and is distributed for free at SALT Galata. A SUNDAY Supplement will also be added to this publication in the coming weeks. Only 76 complete sets of these publications will be numbered and made available for collectors at the Bookstores at SALT Beyoğlu and SALT Galata once the project is completed.

Didem Özbek studied graphic design at Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, İstanbul, and received her MA in Communication Design at Central St Martins College of Art & Design, London. Developing conceptual projects, and realizing audience participating installation and performance works mediated by printed matter is the main focus of her art practice. Design Center, Japan (1997); Umetnostna Galerija, Slovenia (2006); Museo Madre, Italy (2009); Tate Modern, UK (2010); CCA Ujadowski Castle, Poland (2010) and Asia Triennial Manchester ‘11, UK (2011) are some of the spaces she has exhibited her works. Özbek is also the co-founder and co-director of PiST/// Interdisciplinary Project Space and PIRPIR (PiST/// Research and Production Residency Program) in İstanbul.

* The sentence given as reference for the first entry of the word “exhibition” in the Turkish Dictionary of the Turkish Language Association.

Saturday, June 2

12.00-16.00 / Reception
Performance: Still Life with Watermelon 2012
A performance on how an artist positions herself/himself in the production process, where the audience can participate it by asking questions.

12.00-16.00 / Level -1 Cloakroom
Performance: Two Watermelons can Fit into an Armchair 2012
A performance on how an artist positions her/his work and the necessary connections s/he is obliged to build up within the art scene, with the audience and/or the exhibition space, in which the audience can participate by giving support.

17.00-17.40 / Entrance
Performance: Kurun, May 20, 1936
A collective reading of the Kurun newspaper dated May 20, 1936, with the participation of the audience.

Sunday, June 3

Tophane Art Walk

11.00-16.00 / Level 4
Talk-marathon with brunch on the agenda of Kurun newspaper dated May 20, 1936
(There will be limited capacity; rsvp until Thursday, May 31: didem@pist.org.tr)

15.30-16.00 / Level 4
Performance: We were going to Slice a Watermelon
Experience the perception of an art work during the sales process.


The talks will be held in Turkish. The program is free.