Innovative Curatorial Projects – Paris / SingaporeFerhat Ozgur
*1965, Ankara, Turkey. Lives and Works in Ankara, Turkey.
Working with different mediums including video, photography, installations, and painting, Ferhat Özgür's works examine the phenomena of the city and its urban transformational tides, fragments of memory as they relate to changing places and times, and the questions related to how a specific place becomes a city.
Taking part in the 6th Berlin Biennale, 10th Istanbul Biennale and 1st Tirana Biennale, the artist has presented his works in numerous exhibitions including Magazine 4 Kunstverein-Bregenz, Austria; Casino Luxembourg Luxembourg; Ludwig Forum-Aachen, Germany; Stiftelsen 3 14, Bergen, Norway; Stimultania-Strasbourg, France; Centre Pasquart Forum d’art Comtemporain, Biel, Switzerland; Museum of New Art Michigan, USA; Trienale Bovisa–Milan, Italy; Huarte Contemporary Art Center, Spain; Fotografie Forum Frankfurt, Germany etc. Ferhat Özgür continues to teach as a professor at the Hacettepe University, Fine Arts Faculty in Ankara.
A young girl is growing up / Turkey / 2009 / 5'27 / 4:3
The mother is getting ready to iron. Enter the daughter who places her hair onto the ironing board so that the mother can start straightening it. The mother is taking care of her daughter’s hair, a part of the body considered as extremely sensuous within the Muslim culture. These scenes symbolize traditions that maintain the system through the shaping of the young by the old. Although attentive the mother is controlling her daughter’s body by straightening her hair. The face of the daughter is not shown, her emotions remains hidden behind the mass of hair that protects her like an opaque veil.