Studio grant holder in Stockholm 2 October – 27 January 2020

Burçak Bingöl, born 1976 in Giresun, Turkey; lives and works in Istanbul.

My works explore the notions of belonging, cultural heritage, collective memory, decoration and failure by blurring the boundaries between these seemingly distinct notions. Through the process of tracing, copying and re-forming, my aim is to construct a new set of configurations rendering the memory of the self and its associations, from personal to political. The works are psychological landscapes that hover between abstraction and representation, rejection and preservation that both embrace and disregard Eastern and Western traditions. Working with various mediums such as ceramics, drawings, video, photography and installation, the works are constant re-workings of materials and objects to converge to a repetitive act where fiction and failure merges.

Photo: Burçak Bingöl

My plan for the residency period is to finalise two artist books that I’ve been working on. One is about the cultural interactions between the Chinese and Ottoman empires in 16th century via ceramics; the other is about the site-specific ceramic installation The Follower (2017) that I presented in the Beyoglu district as part of the 15th Istanbul Biennial. I’m also hoping to have time to read and think for future projects as well as to digest and reflect on my past production while enjoying the Stockholm winter.

Burçak Bingöl has a MFA (2002) and a PhD (2008) from the Ceramics department at Hacettepe University, Ankara. Bingöl studied music at Ankara State Conservatory (1985-91) and photography at the New School (2008-2009).
Recent group shows, talks and activities include: ACAW Field Meeting, an art forum, Dubai (January 2019) and the LadyDiorArt#3. Her next solo show will be in Berlin in April 2019.

Selected solo exhibitions: Untitled Art Fair (San Francisco, 2018); Jardin Particulier, (French Palace, Istanbul, 2017); Mythos and Utopia (Zilberman Gallery, Istanbul, 2017); Volta NY (New York, 2015); A Carriage Affair (Zilberman Gallery, 2014) and Art Basel (Hong Kong, 2014). Selected group exhibitions: A Good Neighbour, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich; 15th Istanbul Biennial (2017) and TEN (Baksı Museum, Bayburt, 2015). She is represented in private and public collections in the US, Europe and the Middle East, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, USA), 21st Century Museum (Louisville, USA), Baksı Museum (Bayburt, Turkey) and Salsali Museum (Dubai, UAE).