Hüseyin Çağlayan
The Other Side
March 6 – April 6 2024
PİLEVNELİ | Dolapdere
PİLEVNELİ is hosting Hussein Chalayan's solo exhibition The Other Side from March 6 to April 6, 2024. Known for his sculpture, video, and sound installations as well as his designs, this time Chalayan explores the possibilities of a more pictorial form of expression. The starting point of his paintings, which are realized with acrylic, pencil, and mixed media on paper, are the details that the artist captures from his own past, experiences and observations. Focusing on the concepts of watching (surveillance) and to be watched, these scenes invite viewers to assume the role of observers, offering contemplations on human nature and the environment through ambiguous landscapes, figure silhouettes, and vibrant hues. While the images themselves carry an air of uncertainty, the titles of the paintings provide a descriptive framework, prompting viewers to reconsider the depicted scenes.
In his paintings, which are close to each other in size and on paper, Chalayan primarily focuses on his memories of geographies such as Cyprus, London, Istanbul, where he has lived in various periods of his life or his travels, his impressions of different times and the details of the memories he wants to recapture. These works, which can be described as more figurative than her previous works, proceed with more organic and random preferences, in contrast to the perfect proportion, geometry and uniformity that stand out in the artist's designs. On the other hand, the exhibition's title, The Other Side, directs attention to the unseen facets of a scene—the background, often likened to the backstage. These intimate scenes also evoke reflections on the concept of privacy, which has become increasingly elusive with the rise of technologies like social media. Within these frames, human emotions, expressions of human nature, and personal experiences such as love, perseverance, forgetting (dementia), and absurdity are eloquently conveyed. However, in constructing these narratives, Chalayan is more inclined toward creating blurred, ambiguous imagery rather than employing a clear visual language. Rather than presenting these, perhaps deeply personal, anecdotes in a straightforward manner, he opts to unravel layers that demand gradual contemplation, perception, and emotional engagement. By opening the viewer's mind and intentionally blurring the path, he invites them to explore the nuances of his stories more deeply.
Every moment in which private spaces, memories and the past are reconstructed is of great importance in terms of protecting one's privacy and recalling one's feelings in a healthy way. For this reason, the artist not only intrigues the viewer by blurring certain details and distorting forms in his drawings - for example, creating an image that he uses as a form of expression of the past look like a plant and an animal at the same time - but also preserves the subjective thoughts he keeps to himself and perhaps the scenes inspired by a real event.
Spanning a wide array of subjects, from the tranquility following a forest storm on Jeju Island in Korea to the surveillance of lovers amidst a forest inferno, or even a series inspired by the arrival of the renowned actress Raquel Welch in Cyprus for a film shoot, Chalayan intertwines unexpected moments into absurd fictions and intriguing scenarios. Employing acrylic, charcoal, watercolor, pencil, makeup, and glittering materials in balanced and occasionally surprising methods tailored to the scene's characteristics, the artist gives life to various human images, especially by using the silhouette effect frequently. The emotional states and captivating scenarios, which are elucidated further by the titles of the paintings, create a fluid space that invites viewers to engage in diverse modes of thought.
Text: Gizem Gedik
