Aykan Safoğlu's Practice Explores Queer Bodies, Migration, and Memory Through Intimate Proximities
Berlin-based artist Aykan Safoğlu delves into themes of queer identity, migration, and mortality through his poignant creations. His 2013 video essay, Off-White Tulips, contemplates James Baldwin's time in exile in Istanbul during the 1960s, incorporating historical photographs. The 2015 two-channel installation Untitled (Gülşen & Hüseyin) reflects on the suicide of his uncle Hüseyin in Germany in 1978, with Kurdish activist Gülşen representing him. In 2017, he renamed the venue at the Festival of Future Nows from Hamburger Bahnhof to 'Bağnhof', symbolizing collective experiences in Berlin. Safoğlu earned the Grand Prize at the 59th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen in 2013 for Kırık Beyaz Laleler and completed a residency at Rijksakademie, Amsterdam, in 2014. His exhibitions spanned solo and group shows from 2014 to 2016. This article by Gökcan Demirkazik was published in January-February 2019 by ArtReview and K11 Art Foundation.
Key facts
- Aykan Safoğlu is a Berlin-based artist focusing on queer bodies, migration, and death.
- His video essay Off-White Tulips (2013) references James Baldwin's exile in Istanbul in the 1960s.
- Untitled (Gülşen & Hüseyin) (2015) explores his uncle Hüseyin's suicide as a Gastarbeiter in Germany in 1978.
- Safoğlu altered Hamburger Bahnhof to 'Bağnhof' during the 2017 Festival of Future Nows.
- He won the Grand Prize of the City of Oberhausen at the 59th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen in 2013.
- Safoğlu had a residency at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam, in 2014.
- His solo show Off-White Tulips was at Ystads Konstmuseum, Ystad, in 2016.
- The article appears in ArtReview's January and February 2019 issue, associated with K11 Art Foundation.
Entities
Artists
- Aykan Safoğlu
- Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick
- James Baldwin
- Gülşen
- Hüseyin
- Gökcan Demirkazik
Institutions
- ArtReview
- K11 Art Foundation
- International Short Film Festival Oberhausen
- Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten
- Ystads Konstmuseum
- Artspace
- nGbK
- Ashkal Alwan
- Jewish Museum
- Festival of Future Nows
- Hamburger Bahnhof
Locations
- Berlin
- Germany
- Istanbul
- Turkey
- Oberhausen
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Ystad
- Sweden
- Auckland
- New Zealand
- Beirut
- Lebanon
- New York
- United States