Plurivocality Visual Arts and Music in Turkey

Within the scope of its 10th year, Istanbul Modern presented "Plurivocality", an exhibition investigating the interrelations between auditory and visual arts through a selection of contemporary artwork in Turkey.

Exploring the close bond the visual arts have established with sound and music from past to present, "Plurivocality" revealed the special personal and social roles music plays in artistic processes. The exhibition featured current works by artists that treat the visual and the auditory not as distinct disciplines, but rather as two fields that work in tandem. The paintings, sculptures, videos, and installations in the exhibition rendered sound and music visually as a theme, concept, or issue, using different forms of music and sound as metaphors and means of expression. The exhibition also served as a source for understanding the cultural and sociopolitical role sound and music play in Turkey and how various music trends have influenced visual art practices.

A research area at the entrance of the exhibition hall, "Repertoire" explored the intersections between music and the visual arts in Turkey as well as past collaborations between actors in the two fields. "Repertoire" was an initiative that examines Turkey’s sociocultural history from the late Ottoman era to the 1980s via its reflections in the visual arts and music.

The exhibition catalogue features articles on the politics of sound, music and image, along with the content of the research area "Repertoire".

Artists: Nevin Aladağ, Fikret Atay, Semiha Berksoy, Hussein Chalayan, Ergin Çavuşoğlu, Burhan Doğançay, Cevdet Erek, Borga Kantürk, Servet Koçyiğit, Füsun Onur, Ferhat Özgür, Sarkis, Erinç Seymen, Merve Şendil, Hale Tenger, Vahit Tuna, :mentalKLINIK

Curators: Çelenk Bafra, Levent Çalıkoğlu

"Repertoire" research: Birnur Temel, Yasemin Ülgen Saray