Hussein Chalayan: 2003-2006: Hussein Chalayan
Hussein Chalayan will exhibit his 4 recent video works at Galerist from 21.01.2006 until 18.02.2006 with the sponsorship of &club privé -a service of Shop and Miles credit card by Garanti Bank.
His renowned video piece “The Absent Presence” will be shown at Galerist for the first time in Turkey. The video was created for the first Turkish Pavillion of the 51st Venice Bienale 2005 and received unique comments and appraisal from both the critics and art enthusiasts.
Along with “The Absent Presence”, major video installations such as “Place to Passage”, “Temporal Meditations” and “Anaesthetics” which were exhibited on various international platforms will be shown as part of the exhibition.
Influenced by today’s social, economic and political milieu, Chalayan conceptualizes and directs his own video works. The theatrical spaces and costumes, designed by using the techniques of experimental theater are combined with the tools of cinematography. In “Temporal Meditations” Chalayan refers to the ongoing friction between the greeks and the turks of Cyprus. In his more futuristic piece “Place to Passage” the artist depicts a futuristic journey from London to Istanbul spent in a capsule where all the basic needs of the passanger are being met. In “Anaesthetics”, the artist explores the thin line between violence and elegance.
“The Absent Presence” starred by Hollywood’s famous Tilda Swinton has been mentioned over 200 articles in the turkish and the international press last year. The piece investigates on identity using DNA testing on the collected garments.
Hussein Chalayan who was born in Cyprus in 1970, has been graduated from Central St. Martins with honors. He has received England Fashion Awards twice as the Designer of the Year. His works have been exhibited at world famous art platforms such as Tate’s Modern, Museum of Modern Art, Victoria and Albert Museum, and Centre d’art Contemporain. Just recently in April 2005, he had a retrospective exhibition of his past 10 years in fashion and art in Groninger Museum, Holland.