Cansu Korkmaz's Debut Exhibition at SOHO20 Explores Queer Relationships Through Torn Photographs

Cansu Korkmaz's first solo exhibition in New York, 'Quite a While,' ran from March 15 to April 14, 2019 at SOHO20's +/- Project Space in Brooklyn. The Turkish artist, who left Istanbul with her female partner in 2016 due to social and economic conditions, presents 20 photo collages created from approximately 300 analog photographs. These works originated when her partner tore through stacks of developed film rolls after an argument in their Brooklyn apartment. Korkmaz then reassembled the torn fragments into new configurations, scanning and printing them in various sizes to create narrative tension. The collages feature her partner both clothed and nude, with scenes from Uruguay where the couple lived itinerantly for a year before moving to New York. Specific works include 'Quite a While #2' showing urban rooftops juxtaposed with domestic interiors, and 'Quite a While #5' pairing a motorbike in Colonia with a nude figure in Punta del Este. References to art history appear through comparisons to Gustave Courbet's 'L'Origine du Monde' and conceptual links to André Aciman's novel 'Call Me by Your Name' and its film adaptation by Luca Guadagnino. The exhibition was curated by Janna Dyk and installed salon-style in the compact Bushwick gallery space. Korkmaz's process involves using the physical tears as opportunities for new meanings, exploring themes of queer relationships, trauma, and healing against the backdrop of Turkey's non-legalization of same-sex marriage.