I-You-They: A Century of Artist Women

Meşher presents I-You-They: A Century of Artist Women, an exhibition in Istanbul organised under the patronage of Çiğdem Simavi.

Curated by Deniz Artun, the exhibition features a selection of 232 works by 117 artists. Living and working in Turkey between roughly 1850 and 1950, the work of these artists is largely unrecognised by the art historical canon.

I-You-They takes its name from an exhibited work by Şükran Aziz, a Turkish-born international artist and the founder of the Cabaret Voltaire in Poughkeepsie, New York. Referencing Aziz’s call to collectivity, the exhibition does not only recognise women’s struggle for selfhood, the “I,” but also explores the conditions for the formation of a collective “we.”

The subtitle “A Century of Artist Women” refers to an “other” history when each woman and each work that remained outside the straight lines drawn from one name, group, or institution to another, is worth narrating and commemorating. Thus, the exhibition I-You-They, presents women with a century of their own. The exhibition also encourages contemporary artist women to examine their hidden heritage.

While determining the scope of the I-You-They exhibition, curator Deniz Artun underlines that the existence of contemporary artist women in Turkey has no history. However, I-You-They will not claim to write this history. On the contrary, it recalls and reminds us that this history to be written is not singular, but plural. The exhibition is a call to a “we” in and through which each woman and each work can construct its very own history.

I-You-They is spread over three floors of the Meşher building. The ground floor “I” concentrates on women who are faced only with their very plain existence in the mirror. The first floor “You” offers an encounter with the soft and unifying “you.” It calls out for the children as the primary “you”s. Most of the portraits and self-portraits invite us to contemplate the experience of motherhood and subjectivity, the definitions of family and compassion. The second and last floor “They” looks at women through the eyes of others. Flowers, especially when in a vase, comprise all the adjectives attributed to women. Expected to depict the safe and the elegant, many artist women were able to express themselves only by painting flowers in a vase. Therefore, flowers scattered all around the top floor of the exhibition without favoring any one artist or work over another, offer an alternative to a schematic family tree and a linear art history.

Together with the exhibition, an exhibition book containing visuals of the works and ephemera has been prepared. The texts for the book were written by curator Deniz Artun, as well as Şeyda Çetin and Ebru Esra Satıcı, who carried out the research and curatorial work of the exhibition. The book, which is published in two separate editions in English and Turkish, can be purchased from Meşher and Koç University Publishing, or ordered from online bookstores.

The event program of the I-You-They: A Century of Artist Women exhibition will take place simultaneously with the exhibition. Various talks, adult and children’s workshops will take place online and free of charge. The up-to-date event program can be accessed on the Meşher website and its social media accounts. 

Sponsored by ÜNLÜ & Co, I-You-They: A Century of Artist Women can be visited at Meşher until March 27, 2022.

About Meşher
Initiated by the Vehbi Koç Foundation (VKV), Meşher advocates the creation of new dialogues across time and cultures, not only through its exhibitions ranging from historical research to contemporary art but also its comprehensive array of parallel activities such as publications, workshops, and conferences. Takes its name from the Ottoman Turkish word meaning exhibition space, Meşher has been carrying on its activities since September 2019. With its versatile program, research-based academic aspect and publications, Meşher continues to contribute to the culture and art scene as a reference point.