Canan Dağdelen. dual CONSTRUCTION

About

The exhibition dual CONSTRUCTION presents new works by the artist who continues to live and work in Vienna. As an artist who is deeply interested in architecture, Dağdelen interprets architectural forms in relation to different contents. In this exhibition she embarks upon extraordinary experiments examining the spiritual meanings of forms and invites the visitors to undertake new cultural readings through her works.

The starting point of the exhibition is the double structure of Haseki Hürrem Sultan Hammam made by Mimar Sinan, the chief Ottoman architect. Dağdelen was inspired by the elements of repetition, rhythm and balance as implemented in Mimar Sinan’s structures in her installation “Reflection” that she conceived for the main space of the gallery. The artist primarily creates a poetic space for the visitors to contemplate on various thoughts by defining the most important space of this double hammam. Dağdelen constructs a double installation through an analytical use of porcelain spheres. She positions this installation in the gallery space against gravitation and pairs it with “Confluence”, another piece that she developed with her handwriting; hence bringing forth two different interpretations through two major works. The exhibition holds together this dual-form structure, which is essentially a translation of architectural elements into writing, through the use of porcelain objects created by the placement of double hammam forms one upon or on top of another, side by side or upside down.

The impressive plain forms in Dağdelen’s new works highlight a spiritual richness of content against the impositions of modern times as well as an aesthetical stance for today supported by her choice of colour, material and the movement of installation elements.