EYLÜL ASLAN
“HERSTORY”
03/12/2015 – 02/01/2016
Contemporary Photo Artist Eylül Aslan Holds Her First Solo Show “HERSTORY” at ALAN İstanbul!
The name of the show, “Herstory”, comes from a feminist movement in Europe, which aims to object the androcentric way history is made and written. The show depicts a new world and life in which “His-tory” becomes “Her-story”. Among the subjects the artist is interested in; are the difficulties women face in a male-dominated world, and what it means to be a woman. The simplicity and the playfulness of her images shouldn’t mislead us about the seriousness and the severity of her intentions. To put it shortly, Eylül Aslan’s art is a reaction to the oppression of women by politics and religion, and also to societies in which female sensuality is considered a taboo and women are forced to repress their sexuality. Aslan summarizes her work with this sentence: “each one of my photographs tells a story; and I think they also tell stories of other women in addition to mine”.
Eylül Aslan has published two books which feature her photo-series. These series comprise images that deal with being a woman in everyday life. They can also be seen as attempts of female sexuality to free itself again, after having been repressed and subjected to the violence of a male-dominated perspective. A sincere, sensitive sexuality distinguishes itself from the kind that manifests itself through fetishizing and commodificating efforts of men. The associations triggered by figures and objects in the works cause each photograph to create an unexpected, surprising effect. The soft light utilized by Aslan further emphasizes the soft and fragile feeling created by each work. In this way, the subject matter and the stylistic aesthetics of Aslan’s works complement and reinforce each other.
“Herstory” can be seen at ALAN Istanbul till January 2nd, 2016.