29 Aug 2011

Ahmet Cevdet Bey presents the Tunnel of Fear in Overgaden

Ahmet Cevdet Bey Presents: Tunnel of Fear

Welcome to Ahmet Cevdet Bey's universe of tricks, thrills and everyday magic. Two of Turkey's outstanding artists, Ahmet Öğüt and Cevdet Erek, turn part of Overgaden's top storey into a so called horror chamber full of surprises.

In their first joint project, the two artists have fused to become one and the same person: the failed but proud alchemist Ahmet Cevdet Bey. In a site-specific total installation which includes quaint and kitschy objects - collected from the street vendors of Istanbul, Ahmet Cevdet Bey invites us to take a journey into a world where our senses and orientation shift into a new experience, where fear, excitement and exhilaration become vague.

As in a hall of mirrors, everyday personal negotiations for recognition and respect, or about right and wrong, are distorted and magnified, along with the general human fear of loneliness, exclusion and alienation. In the work, Ahmet Cevdet Bey presents all these worries and speculations to the viewers, who are invited to find themselves reflected in the tunnel's polyphonic choir of absurdities, oddities and grotesque banalities.

Both artists work in a wide range of media, and in Tunnel of Fear, Öğüt's critical and subtly humorous studies of everyday social and political relationships are combined with Erek's interest in the viewer's perception and experience of a given space. With a twinkle in the eye, the typical and low budget fear tunnel idea is combined with the minor troubles and speculations of everyday life, but also with issues relating to global economics, transnational corporations and cheap labour.

The exhibition has been organised in co-operation with the Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts (IKSV) realized under the auspices of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with the contribution of The Promotion Fund of the Turkish Prime Ministry and the Danish Arts Council.

The exhibition is curated by Celenk Bafra and Kathrine Bolt Rasmussen.

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Participating artists:

Ahmet Öğüt (b. 1981) completed a two year residency at Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, from 2007– 2008. Solo exhibitions included Artspace Visual Arts Centre in Sydney, MATRIX Program in Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive BAM/PFA and Kunsthalle Basel. Group exhibitions include Performa 09, The third biennial of visual art performance; 5th Berlin Biennial; 9th International Istanbul Biennial and the Venice Biennale, where he represented Turkey in 2009 together with Banu Cennetoglu.

Cevdet Erek (b. 1974) holds a BA in Architecture from the Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts, Istanbul, and a Masters and a PhD in Sound from the MIAM Centre for Advanced Studies in Music, Istanbul Technical University. Erek completed a two years residency at Rijksakademie van beeldende kunsten, Amsterdam, in years 2005– 2006. He has held numerous solo exhibitions including Akinci - Amsterdam, 300 m3 - Gothenburg, and group exhibitions including 8th Istanbul Biennial, Tate Modern - London, Artists Space - New York, Extra City - Antwerp and Arter - İstanbul.