I WAS I AM

Solo Show
16.02.24 / 26.05.24
OK Linz Center for Contemporary Art

“I WAS I AM" is the first solo museum exhibition of Esra Gülmen, a Berlin-based artist with roots in Turkey. The installations use a variety of techniques and are characterized by a mixture of contemporary motifs and graphic reduction. By associating the image with a word or the word with an image, the artist brings to life a visual identity that speaks of the process of self, social awareness, preconceived notions, materialism and consumer culture. As a genuine witness and observer of her zeitgeist, sayings and common clichés inspire her as much as her own sentiments. The exhibition "I WAS I AM" is not only structured spatially but also in terms of its thematic content, all while being both referential and independent of each other.

In a room-filling setting consisting of interactive elements, such as Controversy Teeter/Totters, the artist delves into global challenges and reflects on the everyday paradoxes and intricate complexities of human experience: the constant back and forth and ups and downs.

In another section of the exhibition, the artist focuses on the processes of individual/societal disharmony and adaptation through two mosaic panels. Gülmen’s work then deals with the self-construction processes of the individual, as well as identity and gender theories, in a quite implicit and autobiographical manner. Dealing with social differences, the artist also draws attention to the way lifestyles are perceived.

The most individual work in the exhibition takes the form of Uncensorable, Little Girl In The Pool, where she incorporates a sound installation as well to reference the paradoxical vulnerability that surrounds the exhibition, viewed best from the 1st floor, accessed via the corridor or the foyer staircases.

The title of "I WAS I AM" divides the exhibition into past and present, underlining the connection between the two timelines. The artist ultimately emphasizes the continuum of human existence and the crucial role of history in shaping who we are today. While revealing the discomfort caused by the processes of individual experience amidst the dichotomy of art and life, Gülmen adopts a very universal language.