Preview
Date
Spring 2019
Abstract
Bayar’s multi-leveled sculptural photographs suggest an array of symbols of what is embedded in contemporary lives. The works offer a simple and direct formal structure, but at the same time confront the viewer as objects with symbolic resonance. The works enable viewers to confront the embedded meaning of cultural significance that exist today.
Bayar deliberately chooses a subject matter that is clear and straightforward so that the viewer cannot avoid it. At times uncomfortable, both her sculptural photographs and prints intend to reach viewers on varying degrees of the psyche. Except for the titles and the actual work, Bayar reveals no answers but instead offers a platform where the viewer comes up with additional avenues of examination. What the viewer chooses to extract from the work has more to do with the viewer’s connection to their own background than any fixed meaning assigned by the artist in the work.
As disturbing as the references to these cultural norms may be, there is an element of truth that is meant to confront the viewer. The exhibition is designed to evoke drama in order to question ideas about the status quo and provoke viewers to think deeply about their own place in this pattern of accepted values. -- from gallery website.
Rights
Copyright 2019, Tulu Bayar
Visual Work Type
multimedia works
Type
Exhibition
Exhibition Type
Solo
Technique
gelatin silver prints; assemblage (sculpture technique)
Medium
mixed media
Measurements
40" x 40" x 2 1/2"
Statement
The works entitled Inbound, Intertwined, Inscribe, Intricate, Inked and Incognito are all part of Invisible, a series of mixed-media work. Each work is created by using small and medium format black and white photographic film rolls that document page by page several old books salvaged from flea markets all round the world. With this body of work, I employ elements of Ebru, the Turkish marbling technique developed in 15th century Persia, and Middle Eastern calligraphy, while introducing my own forms of visual exploration that push the boundaries of these historic forms. By concentrating on small gestures, processes and repetition prevalent in Islamic art, as well as cultural symbolism from both East and West, I seek to construct a multi-layered work in form and meaning.
Almost forgotten in 1930s, the marbled motifs of Ebru gained renewed interest in the 1970's. Although not as imminent, photographic film today faces a similar threat of becoming a lost art. As my medium of choice I enjoy working with the delicate and patient processing of film, which I find to be as magical as marbling. Thus, my intention is to create an elegant dialog between the traditional and the experimental by combining elements of the past with a contemporary examination.
tulubayar.com -- artist's website
Venue
Amos Eno Gallery, Brooklyn, New York, New York, United States
Department
Art & Art History
Recommended Citation
Bayar, Tulu, "Cans, Pills & Bullets" (2019). Faculty Exhibitions. 21.
https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/art-faculty-exhibitions/21
Keywords
sculptural photography, photography, mixed-media, Ebru, calligraphy