Behind the Curtains
September 17-October 17, 2005

Opening: 18.30
Galipdede Cad. Yörük Çıkmazı Gündeş Apt. No:3 Tünel
www.canansenol.com

We somehow try to see inside the houses through half open curtains while walking through the streets. Some houses shine like a bright star and some are like black holes. Some people shut their curtains tight; some do not pay that much attention and spread their light to the streets. We are curious about all of them since houses transmit information about their owners.

Secrecy starts behind the curtains. Insiders watch the streets with eyes wide open. Especially people who are kept indoors; women, children, the old and the disabled. Street means life for them and the most they can do is to lean their breasts, faces or little hands by the window. They are the ones who are curious about others' lives: who comes at what time from where, who talks with whom, who wears what … these questions are endless, and the answers are looked for behind the curtains.

Through the crying of people heard from bathrooms, smells (of fried vegetables, cakes, rubbish), sounds (high volume music, talks, shouts), newspapers, clothes, postboxes, greetings, we collect information on the people we share our environment with. Sometimes we are behind the curtains sometimes in front of them …

The project involves looking and being looked at from both sides. While the viewer comes across the momentary intimacy of the house which is the subject matter of the art work, the people who are the subject of the art work will have the possibility to gaze at the outsider, in other words, the viewer. This is a kind of game that is practiced everyday, played behind curtains. This game is being carried to the street as the subject matter of art with the conscious consent of both sides.

Canan Şenol

Translation: Fatoş Üstek

Supported by Epson