Pavilion of Turkey, 51st Venice Biennale
Hussein Chalayan
THE ABSENT PRESENCE
Commissioner and Curator
Beral Madra, BM Contemporary Art Center
Opening reception: 2005, June 9, 5.30 pm
Foresteria Fondazione Levi, San Marco 2893, 30124 Venezia
Hussein Chalayan represents Turkey at the 51st Venice Biennial
In the 51st International Venice Biennial, Hussein Chalayan’s video installation ‘The Absent Presence’ will be realized in the Pavilion of Turkey at the Fondazione Levi, Academia. Under the auspices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey. The Pavilion of Turkey is sponsored by Turquality, Garanti Bank and shop&miles&club with the collaboration of Istanbul Bilgi University and Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts.
The project curated and comission by Beral Madra and coordinated and produced by Murat Pilevneli (Galerist / Istanbul).
Exclusively produced for Venice Biennale, ‘The Absent Presence’, is an enigmatic story based on identity, geography, genetics, biology and anthropology. Chalayan opens the argument on how certain identities can or cannot adapt to new environments and generates a research based narration for his cross-disciplined installation with filmic images and sculptures. There is a serious research behind the end product displaying the interplay of the real and the imagined with a series of collected clothes and deformed crystallized garments. A DNA extraction process from the clothes collected from unknown people, an anthropological evaluation, and a 3 D manipulation all treated through the London sound-scape as the environment reveals the approach of Chalayan to the dilemma of identity.
Hussein Chalayan, who was born in 1970 in Nicosia, graduated from Central St. Martins with a fashion degree. He was chosen consecutively two times the Designer of the Year at the England Fashion Awards. His works were exhibited in personal or group exhibition in important art centres as Centre d’Art Contemporain, Victoria & Albert Museum, 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Tate Modern and Museum of Modern Art. In April, a retrospective exhibition of Hussein Chalayan’s 10 years fashion and art works was organised in the Gröniger museum in Holland with the support of Turquality. A 192-paged book was published for this exhibition. In his videos, which he has, edited and produced their decors. Chalayan integrates the languages of fashion design, furniture design, installations, experimental theatre, music and cinema. Hussein Chalayan is represented by Galerist / Istanbul.
Commissioner and Curator
Beral Madra, BM Contemporary Art Center
Organization and Production
Murat Pilevneli, Galerist
Under the auspices of
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey
Sponsored by
Turquality, shop&miles&club, Garanti Bank
Collaboration of Istanbul Bilgi University,
Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts and Nuova Icona / Venice
Opening reception: June 9, 5.30 pm
