Hareketli İmajlarla Methiyeler
The Loop Barcelona fair is an innovative platform established to promote moving images and develop video art. Apart from being just a fair, it is a marathon where international artists, curators, gallerists, collectors and directors come together and discuss content regarding video. It is worthy of note that 19 galleries joined Loop Barcelona this year, which focused on understanding and discussing the place of video in today’s contemporary art. I feel lucky to have presented Gaia Gallery from Istanbul in this innovative platform.
The jury, which consisted of Haro Cümbüşyan, Renee Drake, Josée and Marc Gensollen, Isabelle and Jean-Conrad Lemaître, included multi-channel videos in this year’s Loop Fair in order to increase diversity. Apart from Gaia Gallery, Art Sümer and Ferhat Özgür, who was in Swiss Galerie Bernhard Bischoff & Partner/Videokunst were among the participants from Turkey.
One of the artists from Gaia Gallery, Arda Yalkın joined with his seven channel video installation The Clerk Jerk, which premiered at this fair. In this installation that depicts a business interview between two employees and three potential personnel, Arda included two professional artists, Aslı İçözü and Yiğit Kirazcı.
Art Sümer was included in the fair with Basim Magdy’s one-channel video titled My Father Looks For An Honest City. In this video shot in Cairo, the artist’s father is acting in an ironic way, wandering in unclaimed territories with a torch.
Ferhat Özgür’s work A Young Girl is Growing Up narrates a fantastic story sharing a fraction of daily life. In this video, which was shot from one angle, we see a mother combing and ironing her daughter’s hair. This action that actually reminds the relationship of a princess and her maid, becomes automated in Ferhat Özgür’s video.
One of the hits of the fair is Paulo Nazareth’s video entitled Ol Ori Buruku. This piece, in which we follow a Nigerian immigrant yelling at a city from the top of a skyscraper from one angle, was granted the 14th LOOP Fair award.
Another sensational work belonged to the Australian artist Shaun Gladwell. In his three channel video Skateboarders vs Minimalism, Gladwell captures the world famous skaters Rodney Mullen, Hillary Thompson and Jesus Esteban in slow-motion, this time not in the streets but on top of the works of Donald Judd, Carl Andre and Dan Flavin in Torrance Art Museum in Los Angeles. The skaters us3 the artworks as like the grounds of a skate park, creating holistic shadows in the museum. Since the music is by Phillip Glass and Kasumichi Grime it’s hard for the audience to contain themselves while watching it.
Another must-see art activity for those who will be in Barcelona this summer, is the Punk: Its Traces in Contemporary Art exhibition hosted by MACBA…. In this exhibition, which presents more than sixty artists, various disciplines such as installations, documentaries, photography, video and paintings come together. The #PUNKtraces exhibition is curated by David G. Torres. Those who cannot make it to the exhibition shouldn’t be upset. In order to feed the Punk spirit, you can nourish your soul with different playlists from MACBA website.