From the Eyes of a Young Photographer: Berk Kır, “Extimacy,” Merdiven Art Space, Istanbul, 5-31 January 2024
Berk Kır, Extimacy, Merdiven Art Space
Berk Kır was born in Turkey in 1997 . He completed his undergraduate degree at Mimar Sinan University of Fine Arts in 2019, majoring in Art History. He is continuing his education at Kadir Has University's Master's Program in Preservation of Cultural Heritage. He is now living and working in Istanbul as a photography artist, researcher and art historian. His research and interests span different areas of social sciences. Conceptual thinking, image theory, cultural heritage, human-body relationship and the city are among the themes he gravitates towards in his art production and research. As of 2021, Berk is listed among Europe's 150 Emerging Talents by GUP (Guide to Unique Photography) Magazine. Berk Kır is currently the brand ambassador of Samsung Turkey and is the photography editor of Unlimited Publications. TWoA talked to Berk about his current exhibition “Extimacy” at Merdiven Art Space (5-31 January 2024), Istanbul, and about his creative process.
TwoA: Before we talk about your exhibition, let's get to know you a little bit. How did your interest and curiosity in art and especially photography begin?
Berk Kır: When I started thinking about photography I was 13 years old, going to high school. Looking back now, exactly 13 years have passed since then. I was using my camera as a tool to explore my surroundings and over time I can say that this practice evolved into me looking outside to discover myself.
TwoA: How did you decide on the title of the exhibition?
Berk Kır: One of the main issues I am interested in the exhibition is object-oriented ontology [nature of being]. While I was thinking about the corporeality [the existence as a physical body] of photography and the possibilities of the image turning into its own object, as a person who produces by collecting items from the street, I was interested in the concept of "extimacy," which Jacques Lacan describes as outsideness. I approach the concept with Anne Rothenberg's "outdoor intimacy." We are faced with an ontological field that I constructed from backward causality.
TwoA: As far as we can see, you bring the art of photography to three-dimensionality with the materials you use. Can you explain to us what we see?
Berk Kır: I have always thought that photography has a social structure. This thought turned into a discussion within myself about perceiving photography as a direct object. I think about the senses, for example: eyelash. The eye is an organ that comes out of the body and spreads to things, while the ear is more stable and has a side that responds to what comes to it. I also see sound as an object. Photography can be thought of as another object derived from its own object. In the last works seen in my exhibition, I share with the audience the [sound of the] heat frequencies emitted by the colors on the photographic surfaces. I think it equalizes the distance between the senses through audibility while being perceived both retinal and with the ear.
TwoA: What makes your exhibition different from the other exhibitions we have seen is the sound element you use. What emotion or thought did you aim to instill in your works with sound?
Berk Kır: As I said, I accept sound as an object. The exhibition space has a large showcase overlooking the street. The exhibition actually starts on the road passing in front of this façade, before entering the venue, with a sound installation. At the front, I say "shhh" in my own voice. This is positioned as a kind of extension of the bodily experience within the city. At the same time, I see space as an object. I think it's like an introduction to the words the place will throw at people. People reflexively look in the window and come across my works. Once inside, the sounds I obtain from the surfaces of my photographs are listened to through headphones. The sounds point to a potential that cannot be perceived at first glance. Something that is always present but invisible within the photograph is revealed.
Berk Kır, Extimacy, Merdiven Art Space
Berk Kır, Extimacy, Merdiven Art Space
