An exhibition at Artist Gallery in Çukurcuma titled “Nude and Prejudice” focuses on clothes and how they characterize people.
“If clothes do not exist, then wars will not exist also,” Ayla Aksoyoğlu, the artist behind the exhibition said. “In a war environment, if we do not know how other people are dressed, then we do not know whether they are allies or foes.”
In the exhibition, the artist tries to tell the story of the impact of clothing on human life and cultural difference. Some societies wear the same thing and this “same thing” mentality usually is usually derived from religion, the artist said.
However, it is also interesting to note that most works of art in churches and other religious buildings contain images of naked human beings, she said, adding that it is not fair to search for any ethical references in such drawings. One should perceive these drawings as art, and art never damages ethical values because it values people, she said.
In her current exhibition, Aksoyoğlu’s work focuses on people who do not belong to any ‘closed’ kind of society. “The hardest thing to draw is the clothes people wear. Because whatever they wear they marks them as a member of a particular social group.”
Aksoyoğlu’s current exhibition does not belong to any time or space, but instead consists of drawings that are pure and simple nudes – poetic descriptions of human bodies. “My nude drawings are not erotic but non-prejudiced works,” Aksoyoğlu said.
Aksoyoğlu’s current exhibition opens a new dimension of the depiction of human existence and will show until Nov. 10.
Address: 10/A Ağa Külhanı Sok., Çukurcuma, Beyoğlu.
www.artistcukurcuma.com