#topak

My first important exhibition took place in 1973 at ARC, the Museum of Contemporary Art of  Paris. I called it Topak EV I. The central theme of the show was the yourte. In 1971 I had gone back to Turkey, which was suffering severe repression at the time due to several recent political events. I became interested in the tents of the nomads and nomadic life in general. The nomads could no longer roam freely because the lands that formerly belonged to the community were now privately owned. The yourte symbolizes their freedom. Curiously enough, however, the women who build these round tents in the shape of a womb practically spend their whole lives inside of them, sheltered from the real world outside. From the time she´s a teenager, the woman spends her time decorating the tent and making it as beautiful as possible, this being considered an important attribute in a wife. A lot of prestige is given to the parents of a girl who gets married. The yourte is in fact symbolic of the relation of the father´s world to the husband´s. 

(04.19)Happy birthday, kapatid!

12 RASON KUNG BAKIT KAPAG GALIT KA, MAS GALIT PA RIN SYA (MGA BABAE NGA NAMAN! TSK TSK TSK)

Kung galit ka, mas galit sya.