Satisfaction can come with many things… So when we say satisfaction- we can talk about physical, mental, sexual satisfaction and on the other hand there is the cultural background to it, just as Turkish artist duo :mentalKLINIK used in their latest exhibition Turkish artist duo :mentalKLINIK, who come to afore with their large scale installations in exhibitions around the world questions the notion of satisfaction in their latest exhibition
Now in their latest exhibition titled 83% SatisfactionGuaranteed in Porto Cervo, Italy, they question the depths of satisfaction with irony and humor. As they do each time, they start with a question. This time the questions they begin with are; what does it mean to be so close to feeling whole, to feeling happy—but not quite at 100 percent? In what way ‘satisfaction’ is not just a goal, but a socio-cultural metaphor?
They use the idea of satisfaction as a vehicle for capitalism, existing as a media-infused corporate substitute for intimacy as it relates to the construct of desire within the public arena, says Legacy Russel in the text she has written. Speaking to Hürriyet Daily News about the exhibition, the duo consisting of Yasemin Baydar and Birol Demir explain this as; ‘Satisfaction is a promise of the system of the good life fantasy and desire is driving source for the system. When it might be achieved, another desire will appear, this is human psychology and the source of life but may be the weakest part of human. So satisfaction is always a promise than real.’ While explaining the ‘satisfaction’ as they perceive it, they : dislocate the materials already detached from everyday life and create a new aesthetic form that is awkward, alien and uncanny within the exhibition space forcing viewers to question their own material surroundings.
Throughout their works they bring to light invisible politics and social dynamics that define our everyday lives. The viewer sees a moet musselet, duck faces (they seemed to be made from paper), shiny colorful carpet. Candy Crash is a carpet installation. The pattern comes from ephemeral stickers like candy’s ephemeral nature. And the promise here is an instant joy and satisfaction which will last very soon.
According to Baydar and Demir, the balloon characters made of cooper and hand painted are called Airless, they are a promise of full of air with a lively look but here they are a failure and without life since they are still colorful. They are also the promise of a serial production’s same appearance but here they are all unique with their zany look kept for an eternity while their nature is more ephemeral. As J. Halberstam declared: Moet”, large-scale twist off tops from champagne bottles that lay strewn on the gallery floor like remnants from a party hosted by giants, said Baydemir and Demir and added: ‘The giants here are not simply celebrities or the famous, the giants are the mammoth banks that are “too big to fail,” and that turn their success into our catastrophic loss.’