COMPLEMENTARY ART UNBINDS TURKISH AND ARMENIAN ARTISTS
VercÝhan ZÝflÝoÐlu
Turkish Daily News, Turkey
May 8 2007
Turkish and Armenian photographers have displayed the daily life of
Yerevan and Istanbul and exhibited them first in Yerevan, then in
Istanbul, Diyarbakýr and Tbilisi. 18,000 frames of a total of ten
artists, have been collected in the photography album under the title
"Merhaparev Yerevan-Istanbul"
ISTANBUL – Turkish Daily News
While the conflicts about opening the border between Turkey and
Armenia cannot be solved, the `candid steps of art` have long gone
beyond the two countries’ boundaries. Clicking on the shutters,
Turkish and Armenian photographers have displayed the daily life
of Yerevan and Istanbul, spoke about being "Armenian" and "Turkish"
with people in the street.
Artists of both countries say that they are impressed by the interest
they received in Armenia and Turkey, where they went for the first
time. The photographs have so far been exhibited first in Yerevan,
then in Istanbul, Diyarbakýr and Tbilisi.
Ozcan Yurdalan, one of the Nar Photos Agency photographers, who
undertook the leadership of the project, says that the exhibition
especially received major attention in Diyarbakýr. During the process,
the exhibition will travel all around Anatolia and the world, with
the support of the Heinrich Boll Stiftung Association.
The photographs will explain the geographies they travel, about the
two people who adopted Anatolia as homeland for themselves beyond their
identities, without politics and strategies for thousands of years.
The works, chosen from among 18,000 frames of a total of ten artists
from Turkey and Armenia, have been collected in the photography album
under the title "Merhaparev Yerevan-Istanbul." One side of the album
is in Armenian, and the other side is in Turkish.
And the title means "hello" in both languages. There are also
explanations in English in the catalogue about the works of the
artists.
It is necessary for both communities to perceive and become close to
each other again without external interference, to be able to step
into a common peaceful future and for the trauma between the two
peoples to be overcome.
No doubt, the Chief Editor of the Agos Newspaper Hrant Dink’s desire
was this, too, who passed away as a result of an assassination. Ozcan
Yurdalan says that Hrant Dink also attended the opening of the
exhibition in Istanbul and said "I support you from the heart". And
he denotes that Dink was quite affected in the formation process of
the exhibition.
Art, without any doubt, can prepare a ground with its candid side,
for the two people to get closer. This is why Nar Photos from Turkey
and Badger Photokorzsagalutyun from Armenia have gotten ready to do
this project. Garen Mirzoyan, Nelli Þismanyan, Rupen Mankasaryan,
German Avagyan and Anahid Hayrabedyan from Armenia came to Istanbul
for the first time in May last year. And Mehmet Kacmaz, Serra Akcan,
Tolga Sezgin, Ozcan Yurdalan, and Kerem Uzel went to Yerevan. Both
groups dived into the daily life on the city streets for one week,
took photos, were guests at tables, directed their questions that
had been hanging in their heads for years to ordinary people.
Ozcan Yurdalan from Nar Photos and Rupen Mankasaryan from Badger
Photokorzsagalutyun come together with a common thought and express
their opinion with the following words, "As we see in recent events,
although we have been living together for centuries, we almost
don’t know each other at all. Apart from the historical origins,
the conflicts in between emanate from oblivion. There is a serious
discontinuity between Turkey and Armenia, in fact there are attitudes
that sometimes become animosity. We want peace in our countries and
region. Contact and touching would contribute to the direct solution
of the problems between the two communities."
The healing role of art in accords:
Mehmet Kacmaz and Ozcan Yurdalan summarize the mission of Nar Photos
as, "We see photographs as a tool of expression, and we also want to
have a share in the overcoming of problems." Artists of both groups
mention that photographs are a universal language.
During the evolution of the project, meetings were held in Kars,
Tbilisi and Armenia by the Heinrich Boll Stiftung Association. Ozcan
Yurdalan says, "The basic subject of these meetings was the healing
role of art and culture in regions of accord." Yurdalan mentions that
the Caucasus is a quite problematic region, and says that Nar Photos
came up with a suggestion during these meetings for the project to
be formed.
Mehmet Kacmaz says that differences enrich, and they give meaning to
our living together, and adds that he came back from Yerevan enriched
in terms of differences and similarities, by saying "however similar
the Armenian and Turkish societies may be, they also have as many
differences." He mentions that the photographers from Nar Photos and
Badger Photokorzsagalutyun did not interfere with each other during
the shootings, but the resulting works are a product of the same
perception and understanding.
In the catalog named "Merhaparev," that include black and white
photographs, various segments from the daily lives of the two countries
are depicted, from everyday life to art, religion and sports.
–Boundary_(ID_rDFM5qD8E1bIN65LFJBFRg)–