Oda Projesi (Özge Açıkkol, Güneş Savaş and Seçil Yersel) is participating in the Biennial with a book entitled Neighbourhood, room, neighbour, guest? Originating from a decision to make a book from all the relationships, situations and people they know and that they have worked with, Oda Projesi draws attention to an important part of art production; daily relationships. Designed to be in the form of a conversation-book, the publication is based on a set of eight questions that Oda Projesi has asked. These questions, which focus on ways of forming relationships with the space and the situation that people find themselves in, have led to an interactive network between the 154 participants who have answered the questions and asked their own questions. The book is formed from questions by Oda Projesi, the visual or textual replies by the participants, their own questions and biographies. The book which consists of these 'conversations' points to an imagination of a communal narration, an intention of constructing a narration through the possibilities of the space of printed material.

'And our hope is that an İstanbul will emerge from all these. For Oda Projesi this city has always been a point of departure, a locus of awareness. We didn't want to use it but adapt it, work out its strategies, put them into practice, we wanted to never forget getting lost, being transient, and the constant process of re-creation, and to appreciate life... To steal its role.'

The book which generates a symbolic dialogue between people who have experienced Oda Projesi yet do not know each other, is designed by Esen Karol who is also the graphic designer of the Biennial.

The Turkish edition of the book, which will be available for sale at the biennial venues, will be distributed by 124/3, while the English edition will be distributed by Revolver Publishing. In addition, another biennial artist, Luca Frei, has constructed a spatial installation in relation to the book's presentation in the Biennial. Frei's installation project will be exhibited in the Tobacco Warehouse.

Hatice Güleryüz

Hatice Güleryüz is preparing a publication entitled Strange Intimacies as part of her project for the Biennial. The book, which will be published in September, originated from a desire to investigate notions of estrangement and identity in relation to İstanbul. Güleryüz has engaged in conversations with foreigners living in İstanbul as a way of expressing the sense of encountering different realities and the problematics of belonging. The book holds a gateway to an understanding of the experiences of strangers shaped by different perspectives and of the clichés that emerge when conceiving the city and its culture. The publication is complied of writings, anecdotes of people who have come to İstanbul from different cultures and for different reasons and compelling photographs which relate to their encounters with the city. Strange Intimacies brings together a diverse panorama of people whose only common point is their affection of İstanbul while presenting a unique portrait of İstanbul through their thrills, troubles and bewilderments. The book, which will be published in Turkish and English within the framework of the Biennial, will be available for sale at the exhibition venues. Güleryüz will also exhibit a video project on the same theme for the Biennial.

Şener Özmen

Şener Özmen's project for the Biennial is a publication entitled. The intention of the artist is to recreate the contents of conventional İstanbul guides, which provide tourists with helpful practical information, from the point of view of an artist who visits İstanbul only within the context of exhibitions. As the artist puts it: ‘İstanbul Guide's linguistic setup feeds off my choice of Plastic-Narration. I will wait for my reader to ask: "where is this İstanbul?"' Presenting İstanbul and ‘all its conventional destructions' as a ‘plastic-narration' through subverting the standard city guide format, Ş ener Özmen's guide is a striking book that ranges from traditional calligraphy to ceramics, from interior design to archaeology, from Labor Day to Tarlabaşı, from İstiklal Caddesi to army gear, from the art of painting to imaginary lives of celebrity-icons who have visited İstanbul throughout history and stayed in İstanbul hotels such as Ernest Hemingway, Agatha Christie, Le Corbusier, Pierre Loti, Lord Byron, Adam Mickiewicz, Florence Nightİstanbul Guide will be available for sale at the Biennial venues.

'The guide in your hands brings forth the matter with its main lines. The essence of the matter is this: the untimely death of our contact in İstanbul prompted procedures that can only be described as "urgent" concessions to our artistic stance (I'm bound to add that this hasn't been a coincidence). Despite these concessions, and using the influence of our former contact, we attempted to find a new contact who could put into circulation in İstanbul (and further West) the several works we had produced. But we couldn't. As for me, I have neither the time nor the courage to consider (and say) where I'd gone wrong. I can see that my men really suffer defeat and I pass my time (meant for consoling them) reminiscing on the fine days of the past (exhibitions and visits) and consuming two packs of cigarettes (each containing 40).'