This Is Not A Performance

About

This time don’t expect to see a live performance from Performistanbul. International performance art platform Performistanbul announces the launch of a unique exhibition, showcasing the remainings from past performances and inviting the viewers to investigate the process of performances presented by Performistanbul artists since its foundation. This Is Not A Performance will be held between 30 November 2018 - 12 January 2019 at Daire Sanat.

In collaboration with Performistanbul and Daire Sanat, This Is Not A Performance will question the possibility of exhibiting time and investigate reflections of the performance process on actual life whilst presenting the transformation of the process into an object.

A pioneering performance art initiative, Performistanbul continues its active work in the field and celebrates its third year by this exhibition, this time aiming to mark a new chapter in contemporary art scene.

Curated by Simge Burhanoğlu, This Is Not A Performance will re-exhibit the remains of the past performances presented by Performistanbul, highlighting the impossibility of displaying the process of performance art. The aim of this exhibition is not to present a live performance or exhibiting a documentation, it is rather to create an understanding towards performance art by focusing on the process, the effects of it on the performers, audience and their lives.

How does a live performance transforms time and place into an experience and an art piece?, Do the remains of a past performance hold an artistic value or are they just random objects from performances? Is it possible to conserve the identity of an art work today and in the future? What is the relationship between the object and memory? This Is Not A Performance seeks to find answers to these questions by showcasing the remaining solid objects from past performances accompanied with the voice records of the performance artists.

Taking memory at the centre, the exhibition points out the intangible process of performance and seeks to reflect a new perspective in contemporary arts.

The exhibition will include rocks, glasses, tapes, concrete, bags and diary pages, which keep traces from past performances. These random objects will become pieces of art and gain meanings within their new context. The remains from Concrete by AslieMk, Just 15 Minutes by Batu Bozoğlu, Silence by Ebru Sargın L., My Sandcastles by Ekin Bernay, You Are Half Water by Gülhatun Yıldırım, The Endless Field by İ. Ata Doğruel, Empoisoned Princess by Leman S. Darıcıoğlu, Tape by Özlem Ünlü and live camera performance entitled Smile by Selin Kocagöncü will be exhibited.