Neriman Polat and Hülya Eyidoğan come together at Pg Art Gallery in the exhibition titled “Safe Zone.”
In today’s world, where digital technologies increasingly dominate our lives, we remain indifferent to events unfolding around us, as if we were merely spectators of a “fiction.” The boundaries between the virtual and the real are becoming ever more blurred. Wars, disasters, and injustices that we watch from behind a screen — as though viewing a film — evoke in us little more than a sense of lament. While we have easy access to all information, at the same time being distant from all evils — or believing ourselves to be distant — comforts us. We choose what is easy, retreat into our “safe zones,” and confine ourselves within our own worlds.
Coming together around this shared concern, the artists also critique the illusion that realities are nothing more than images, and the way in which the unreal is made to feel real — even ideal. Is our indifference to the realities we witness, alongside our attempt to incorporate the unreal into our lives, truly our own choice? Or is all of this being imposed upon us? What will the digital lives that began in the late 1990s and have spread at an incredible pace in recent years ultimately take away from us, both individually and collectively?
Approaching these questions through an artistic language and aiming to prompt us to question our experiences once again, the artists employ painting, video, and photography as their means of expression.
In her “Sevince” series, Neriman Polat focuses on the illusions experienced by those who grow up within the offerings of the virtual world as they transition into youth. She departs from the idea that in a societal project where consumption is constantly promoted, physical beauty is rendered indispensable, and rigid standards are imposed, unhappiness and hopelessness are inevitably nourished. In her showcase performances, the artist also presents an ironic approach through her own body.
Hülya Eyidoğan, on the other hand, transfers selected frames from sixteen different films onto her canvases. Reinterpreting these films — united by a shared sense of hopelessness — she critiques the condition of watching lived realities as though they were a film. The paintings are accompanied by a video featuring scenes from the films.
Born in 1968, Neriman Polat graduated from the Painting Department of Mimar Sinan University in 1990. Having participated in numerous biennials, her works have been exhibited in many countries including Bulgaria, Georgia, Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Greece, Slovenia, Italy, Brazil, Belgium, and Spain.
Born in Germany in 1980, Hülya Eyidoğan has been living in Istanbul for 24 years. Working in the fields of fashion, painting, and cinema history, the artist meets art audiences for the first time with this joint exhibition.
