The curator of the show, Louise Dery, explains that she visited İstanbul in 2004 when the artist Sarkis had a show at the Akbank gallery. “It is because of him that I decided to travel to İstanbul for the opening of his exhibition. I had shown him a couple of years before in Montreal, a show that we prepared together for almost 10 years. On the day of our opening in Montreal, I told Sarkis, ‘The next time that you show in your own country, I will come for the opening.’ I fulfilled my promise and came to İstanbul,” she says in an interview with Today’s Zaman.
During her first visit to İstanbul she witnessed the process of metamorphosis in the city, she explains. “I had a strong impression that everything was transforming in front of my eyes. Because I am an art historian, I know about the treasures of the city, but to see it was incredibly strong. For that reason, I have tried to recover my real first impression of the city and decided to develop the concept of metamorphosis,” she says.

According to the curator “metamorphosis” is a perfect metaphor for the work of visual artists, “whose desire to transfigure the visible, whose resistance to inertia and necrosis, whose will to conjure the anxiety of a world in the throes of the abyss, compels them to transform matter and form.” She adds that an artist explores the infinite possibilities of variation. “Such a crossover is variously tinged with dreams, creative fantasies and intuitions,” she notes.

The artists whose works are featured in “Metamorphosis” are Michael Snow, David Altmejd, Raphaëlle de Groot, Jérôme Fortin, Isabelle Hayeur, Mark Lewis and Jocelyn Robert. On the subject of the artists’ different approaches to the show’s theme, Dery says it would be possible to dwell further on the categories of metamorphosis, “metamorphosis of identity, geography, body, culture, language, politics, religion -- and never finish mapping the immense terrain of issues that artists deal with.” She adds, “All the works I have selected are targeting the environment (nature transformation) and the human figure.”

Explaining how she decided on the artists for the show, Dery says she chose the pieces and artists in relation to Michael Snow’s work. “He is our most famous artist in Canada. For example, ‘Solar Breath’ is one of the main pieces in the show. It is a video projection in which you see the effect of the wind in the screen of a window. It is a very simple work about solar energy and contemplation and it has a strong impact on our perception of the external transformations of the environment,” she says. Snow has also developed many works on the subject of anamorphosis, the contraction of figures, sometimes using his own face, as in the piece titled “Parked,” which is a self-portrait showing his face pressed tight against a car window. “It gave me the idea to explore metamorphosis in two ways, transformation of the environment and transformation of the human figures, and the selection of the works in the exhibition is linked to these two manners of exploring metamorphosis,” she continues.

There are seven artists showing around 20 visual pieces and there are also four sound installations, which can be heard with headphones. “One of them is from Glenn Gould, the famous Canadian pianist who has been recognized for his interpretations of Bach and Berg and others, but also for his experimental work in recording very original material, like the piece ‘The Idea of the North,’ that people will discover in the show,” Dery explains. There are also two video programs, one about Michael Snow, and the other one, curated by Peggy Gale, including a dozen famous Canadian video artists.

Dery adds that she is proud to say that David Altmejd, whose work she showed as the commissioner of the Canadian pavilion at the 2007 Venice Biennial, is represented in “Metamorphosis” with three sculptures. “He had a show in the İstanbul Biennial in 2003. After I made my selection for ‘Metamorphosis,’ Mark Lewis, also in the exhibition, was chosen to represent Canada at the next Venice Biennial. The artists I am showing at the Akbank Art Center are among the most important ones in Canada, and they are all very pleased to showcase their work in İstanbul.”

Todays Zaman