Gülsün Karamustafa: Hollow and Broken—A State of the World

Hollow and Broken: A State of the World, a new installation by one of Türkiye’s most influential and outspoken artists, Gülsün Karamustafa, will be presented at the Türkiye Pavilion at the 60th International Venice Biennale. Karamustafa’s installation will comprise an interconnection of sculptural works from found materials, inviting viewers to reflect on the current state of the world, akin to the tragic feeling of a tumultuous reality and issues threatening humanity. In an element of the installation, the artist alludes to the perpetual conflicts among faiths that, throughout history, have never ceased fighting one another.

“What I am dealing with” Karamustafa says of this work, “is the state of a world hollowed out to the core by wars, earthquakes, migration and nuclear peril unleashed at every turn, threatening humankind while nature is ceaselessly scathed and the environment made sick.

I attempt to physically and emotionally summon into existence this phenomenon: the emptiness, the hollowness, the brokenness produced by the devastation that has become commonplace, whose pace becomes ever more impossible to keep up with, by the unimaginable grief that keeps on striking again and again at relentless intervals, by empty values, identity struggles and brittle human relationships.”

Space plays a central role in the exhibition for the artist, championing unconventional methods and disparate materials, exploring themes of turmoil and portraying “the world, a battlefield” as an “endlessly shifting ground”. 

A book accompanying the exhibition will include essays written by 12 authors on each of the materials used in Gülsün Karamustafa’s new work, short articles on the artist’s previous works related to her new work, an interview with the artist, and sketches. Edited by Melis Cankara and designed by Esen Karol, the book will be published in two volumes, Turkish and English. Yelta Köm will be the design consultant of the exhibition, whereas sound design consultant will be Furkan Keçeli.

The 2022–2024 Advisory Board of the Türkiye Pavilion consists of General Manager of Suna and İnan Kıraç Foundation, Culture and Arts Enterprises Özalp Birol; Lecturer at Marmara University Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Sculpture Nilüfer Ergin Doğruer; artist İnci Eviner; Director and Curator of the Fiorucci Art Trust Milovan Farronato and Editor of Sanat Dünyamız and art writer Fisun Yalçınkaya.

The Türkiye Pavilion exhibition is coordinated by the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (İKSV) under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Türkiye, with the contribution of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, with the global partnership and airline partnership of Turkish Airlines and with the production and publication support of SAHA Association. The Türkiye Pavilion has taken part in the International Architecture Exhibition since 2014, thanks to the acquisition of the permanent venue at Sale d’Armi, Arsenale on the initiation of İKSV and with the support of 21 sponsors.

High-resolution images.
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For other media-related questions regarding the Türkiye Pavilion: media [​at​] iksv.org