source:artsandculturegooglecom
Candeğer Furtun employs traditional ceramic techniques in order to examine and portray the human body. She often works with reproductions of individual body parts, which are then combined so that an individual fragment can represent the whole, or suggest a larger scene, history, idea or space. Having studied arts and crafts both at home and abroad in the 1950s and 1960s, her eye towards her own culture is of an insider as well as an outsider.

Furtun’s Untitled (1994–1998) series of ceramics shows nine bare human legs placed side by side and installed on a bench-like construction. Recalling mannequin legs, the disembodied limbs are male, if hairless, and one pair is touched by a hand. Suggesting a number of bodies in a row, the work references the hammam culture of Turkey, in which people sit on benches in a space of healing and rest. Yet it might also recall the seating of people on public transport, in waiting rooms, or other public-private spaces. Or perhaps this group of exclusively masculine ‘manspreading’ limbs quietly addresses the furtive conditions and exclusionary tactics of male power: the coming together of men in order to negotiate or sign deals behind closed doors.

While the leg is the means of mobility for the body, here it is immobilised; while the hand is a site of expression, of use and of touch, here it is without function. Through this abstraction, Furtun’s works contrast the individuality of human bodies with their representation, pointing to notions of artifice and seriality.

Despite the intensive physical labour that goes into the production of these ceramics – made by casting and throwing – they are inherently ones of reproduction and sequence. Conversely, the works pay respect to the human form, which although subjugated to the forces of serialisation and homogenisation, remains particular, gendered and unique.
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source:newqqcom
在一个贴了瓷砖，看似澡堂的空间内，有近十几对瓷器烧成的大腿坐在沿墙而建的狭长座位上。这些腿没有身体，也没有任何性别的记号，不过从肌肉结构很容易辨认，它们都是男人的腿。双腿大开成八字型，大肆霸占空间，像在巴士上一人占据两人位子的坐像。

姜迪格∙弗屯（Candeger Furtun）《无题》（Untitled）, 1994–96年，陶瓷，46.5 x 600 x 48 cm，Courtesy of the artist Presented with the support of SAHA – Supporting Contemporary Art from Turkey。摄影: Sahir Uğur Eren

这是今年81岁的土耳其陶瓷艺术家姜迪格∙弗屯（Candeger Furtun）在第15届伊斯坦布尔双年展上展出的作品《无题》（Untitled）。她利用这些腿来影射土耳其这个充满性别歧视的男权社会。

姜迪格∙弗屯（Candeger Furtun）《无题》（Untitled）, 1994–96年，陶瓷，46.5 x 600 x 48 cm，Courtesy of the artist Presented with the support of SAHA – Supporting Contemporary Art from Turkey。摄影: Sahir Uğur Eren

这个由伊斯坦布尔文化艺术基金会(Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, 简称IKSV)创立的双年展今年刚满30岁。一反惯例，这次的策展人是两位北欧艺术家。米可∙埃尔姆格林（Michael Elmgreen）与茵加尔∙卓格赛特（Ingar Dragset ）以《好邻居》(A Good Neighbour)为主题，探讨“好邻居”的定义？

策展人米可∙埃尔姆格林（Michael Elmgreen）与茵加尔∙卓格赛特（Ingar Dragset ），图片提供：伊斯坦布尔双年展媒体中心。摄影：MUHSIN AKGUN IKSV。

在今天的社会，公共和私人之间的界限变得模糊，人与人之间和平共处的价值正受到严格的考验。策展人将睦邻的概念从个人、家庭拓广到国家与国家之间的关系，他们向大众质问：“很少露面的会是好邻居吗？”、“没养宠物的是好邻居吗？”、“好邻居是否在你去度假时帮你收信？”、“是否愿意帮你照顾5岁小孩？”、“是否和你阅读相同的报纸？”、“是否是你脸书上的好友？”、“是否有讯号强而且不锁密码的无线网路？”、“站你身边的流浪汉会成为一个好邻居吗？”、“用枪械保护自己财产的人会是个好邻居吗？”、“好邻居应该比你富还是比你穷？”、“不让你害怕的陌生人就是好邻居吗？”、“车子上贴了“关闭边境”贴纸的会是好邻居吗？“、“有好邻居是过分要求吗？”等看似幽默却又引人深省的问题。

第15届伊斯坦布尔双年展开幕，图片来源：伊斯坦布尔双年展媒体中心。摄影：Ilgin Erarslan Yanmaz。

双年展在6个地点举行，其中有10年前关闭的希腊小学、旧货舱改建的现代美术馆、五星级酒店改建的佩拉博物馆（Pera Museum）、民宅改建的文化方舟（ARK Kultur）、艺术家工作室转变成的临时展厅，以及一栋建于1477年，伊斯坦布尔最古老的澡堂。由于这些地点都是徒步距离，在双年展期间也形成了一个邻里。与上一届分散到36个展览地点比较，这一次的双年展虽然规模小了许多，内容却一点也不缩水。

在伊斯坦布尔最古老的澡堂中，艺术家表演的《Body Drops》, 45分钟, 版权由艺术家所有。Produced with the support of SAHA –Supporting Contemporary Art from Turkey。摄影: Sahir Uğur Eren。

政府只补助了6%的经费，但是私人企业集团却非常慷慨，特别是土耳其最大的Koc控股。也就是如此，56位参展的艺术家中有30件特别为双年展完成的新作。新加坡摄影师沉绮颖到北京住在地窖中，在绰号 “蚁族”们的家中拍摄他们生活的环境。今年46岁的土耳其艺术家尔坎∙欧兹加（Erkan Ozgen）的《Wonderland》是一部聋哑的叙利亚小男孩在土耳其的新家内比手画脚，描述他逃难过程的录像。土耳其与叙利亚为邻，大量涌入的难民自然成了当地人的邻居，他们会是好邻居吗？

沉绮颖（Sim Chi Yin）摄影作品, 2017年, 第15届伊斯坦布尔双年展佩拉博物馆（Pera Museum）现场。摄影：Sahir Ugur Eren。

萧昱是唯一来自中国大陆的艺术家，为了强调日渐消失的传统农作，从内蒙古带了两位农民到伊斯坦布尔现代美术馆，用当地的驴子来“耕水泥地”。除了新作，双年展还有一些过去艺术家的作品，像是1977年过世的美国摄影师Lee Miller ，她在二战结束前到了希特勒在慕尼黑的家，在希特勒的浴缸内泡澡，在希特勒情妇Eva Braun 的床上抽烟，让苏联战犯在梳妆台化妆。这位家居摆设和一般大众毫无区别的历史罪人有可能是好邻居吗？

萧昱《土地》，2014年/2017年，水泥、砂土、驴、犁、农民，尺寸可变。版权由艺术家所有，Produced with the support of Dr. Uli Sigg and Pace Gallery (Beijing)。摄影: Lulu Ning Hui，图片提供：佩斯。

伊斯坦布尔双年展自从30年前创办以来就接二连三地经历了各式各样的天灾人祸，从毁灭性的地震、经济风暴、阶级纠纷，到全面性的反抗示威、叙利亚的难民潮、一连串的恐怖攻击。土耳其总统埃尔多安(Recep Tayyip Erdogan)从2016年7月突击政变未遂之后，大肆逮捕批评分子，剥夺言论自由，让国家逐渐走向极权。然而，在无法与政府对抗的情况下，参与双年展的艺术家们还是有办法用含蓄巧妙的方式来抗议，就像是弗屯用陶瓷烧成的大腿，或是欧兹加让聋哑儿以无声来阐述生命的浩劫。

尔坎∙欧兹加（Erkan Ozgen）的《Wonderland》, 2016年，单通道高清影像，3分54秒。版权由艺术家所有。Presented with the support of SAHA – Supporting Contemporary Art from Turkey。摄影: Sahir Uğur Eren。

双年展虽然已经在2017年11月中旬结束，但是《好邻居》没有因此而消失，策展人从双年展中挑选了10位艺术家，外加两位新的艺术家，从12月中旬到2018年4月1日在慕尼黑的现代美术馆展出。慕尼黑虽然与伊斯坦布尔距离1887公里，谈不上邻居，但是在德国境内有高达4、5百万的土耳其移民，相当于德国人口的5%。然而，由于德国政府指责埃尔多安试图改变土耳其宪法给自己更多的权力，加上德国《世界报》记者被土耳其长期押禁，德土的关系在过去一年已经跌到新的低谷。在这个令人悲观的政治环境下，慕尼黑现代美术馆与伊斯坦布尔双年展开始了第一次合作，证明了即使土耳其在与邻国的关系恶化，外交日趋孤立的情况下，透过艺术，伊斯坦布尔双年展仍然可以在国际上赢得许多“好邻居”。
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source:exhibistcom
Instead of a statement, the curators, artist duo Elmgreen & Dragset, developed 40 questions that have guided the process of making the exhibition. These questions were first presented live in Istanbul by 40 performers of different ages, genders and backgrounds in December 2016, and were shared on the Biennial’s website and social media accounts. A video documentation of the press conference can found through this youtube link.

“Your neighbour might be someone who lives quite a different life from yours. And hopefully you, unlike many politicians lately, are not the one who chooses to deal with your fear of otherness by fencing yourself off. The artists in the 15th Istanbul Biennial raise questions about ideas of home, neighbourhood, belonging and co-existence from multiple perspectives. Some of the artworks examine how our domestic living conditions and modes have changed and how our neighbourhoods have transformed, while others focus on how we cope with today’s geopolitical challenges on a micro-level. The Biennial takes its form from the invited artists’ personal or analytical statements: an engaging mixture of hopes and visions, of sadness and indignation, of history and present day.”
Elmgreen & Dragset, curators of the 15th Istanbul Biennia

From Moscow to Sydney: The International Billboard Project In anticipation of the exhibition, the 15th Istanbul Biennial launched an International Billboard Project to share the theme of ‘a good neighbour’ in different cities around the world. Through collaborations with cultural institutions worldwide, the International Billboard Project displays a carefully curated selection of photographs by Lukas Wassmann, which capture unexpected encounters paired with questions asking what makes a good neighbour. Host cities include Moscow (Russia), Sydney (Australia), Milan (Italy), Ljubljana (Slovenia), Armagh, Ballynahinch, Belfast, Downpatrick and Newry (Northern Ireland), Southhampton (UK), Calgary (Canada), Plovidv (Bulgaria), and Chicago (USA), Seoul and Gwangju (South Korea).