Transparency: Does it reveal or conceal ?
Transparency is the prominent element in the statues of Oganer. This ‘transparency’, which the exhibition is named after, entirely originates from the visual sensation caused by the material used in the works. Oganer has made his choice in materials as ‘dantel’ (lace) and ‘iğne oyaları’ (embroidery), both of which have an important place in Turkish hand crafts. In this context, the artist’s works have a relationship with the traditional. Aside from the choice of materials aspect, which is nourished from tradition, the artist’s works gain a contemporary status in terms of the form and conceptual aspects.
The mind’s cultural understanding of the word transparent gets visual at the of lace and its sociocultural codes create an irony with the sexual appeal found in the young female statues of Oganer. In fact, considering the young female profile in Turkey today, the expression captured in Ozan Oganer’s statues is a reflection of the internal problem of the women who carry on their shoulders the weight of traditions –of yesterday- while trying to belong to the present day. compositions of Oganer’s statues. The chosen postures of the young female figures are captivating, suggestive and flirtatious. The lace used in the making of the statues wraps the body and reinforces a sexual emphasis. Each piece of lacework found in the bridal belongings are hand crafted with care. Every single one of it has a memory, with traces of the past and efforts of the maker…. The traditional attitude The ironic attitude in the works also continues with the transparency caused by the material used. Because, lace is a concealingelement and yet still, a revealing one. Transparency serves to vaguely display what is in the
background with its see-through nature while creating a certain form of camouflage. In fact, the actual subject is concealed while the background is displayed. This way, the artist has managed to conceal the female bodies with lace but also to
make the inner worlds of them visible and see-through. The ethnographic meanings communicated by each of the motifs on the lacework appear also as elements that the statues carry on them. Each of the motifs have been carefully woven on to the female bodies. Lace conforms with the anatomical shapes and even serves to make all corners rounder. Whereas the body materializes as an abode of sexuality, the soul is set to be free with the transparent nature of lace. In Oganer’s works the female body is an object of observation. The woman herself desires to be observed. That is what her posture conveys.
Another aspect of Oganer’s works is the rhythm they capture along with light and colors; a sense of belonging and an existence within a different dimension. The transparent and camouflaging nature of lace takes on a whole new meaning as it meets light. The way light is used is capable of changing the way an artwork is perceived each time. This situation makes the works alive and strengthens motion.
Oganer also colors the works that he has made by using lace…. Ozan Oganer prefers to leave all of these circumstances to the observer’s perception… What’s important for him is how the observer is going to look at the “Transparent”: Does it conceal, or does it reveal ?…
Özlem Ünsal
In Esra Şatıroğlu’s works, reflecting spirituality in the way to reach the long-awaited, with the use of abstracted avoiding to create _”chaos”_, plain and simple, but different and meaningful, swirling geometric expressions like dragging the viewer in by creating clearly open borders and even eliminating the borders, the meeting of isolated, lost in a pure dimension open to spatial interaction / unreachable / long-awaited and creation of a _”space”_ independent of time and space is concerned. And even by dragging the viewer in, she invites him / her to discover _”what belongs to him”_.
