Publications
Today's Zaman, exhibition review
18.12.2011
...Paker's exhibition, a project consisting of an interactive video installation, paintings and the written word, envisages a world where the body, mind and soul as a whole belong solely to their owner and rejects being owned, manipulated, objectified and labeled by others. "I’m a woman. Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, that’s me." reads the poetry on her hand-written paper wall piece.
"The struggle and obligation for women to prove themselves all through their lives comes with an enormous psychological and physical load, a load that is hard to carry." 43-year-old Paker told Sunday's Zaman. "Honestly, most of the time I wonder how we bear it.... In this exhibition, I wanted to celebrate the female energy and power."
Sarı Siyah Dergi, interview
Winter 2012 issue / röportaj, kış 2012 sayısı
..."When I first got the exhibit invitation, I chose my interactive video 'iNTo' as the center piece. iNTo had come to life after a 4-months preparation time while I used to live in New York. When I relocated to Istanbul in 2002, there didn't exist a platform to exhibit it and the art scene wasn't ready for it yet. In conjunction with the video, I wanted to create digital collages and mixed media works, too. During the video's performance, there were 3 performers including me. The other two were a Turkish-American modern dancer friend of mine, and a Chinese friend who was a multimedia designer. They wanted collaborate with me because such a project was the first of its kind... Originally, the video was a kiosk for individual experience. This time video is projected onto a large wall in a dark room. Before it, there is only a mouse on a stand. Audience gets to use the mouse to navigate the piece. There are smaller video clips of women in the containing video, and when you go over them, they start moving and speaking. We used English, Turkish and Chinese verses to include everyone in the piece."
The Art of the Balkan Countries, exhibit & book
2002
My interactive web art piece, Path to Wisdom, in the format of a virtual maze game was featured in the book of 'The Art of the Balkan Countries' exhibition and book.
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Labirent oyunu formundaki interaktif web eserim Bilgeliğe Giden Yol, 'Balkan Ülkelerinde Sanat' sergisi ve kitabında yer aldı.
Exhibition review by Zeynep Şanlıer, art curator & author / Küratör & yazar Zeynep Şanlıer'in sergi değerlendirmesi
in English & Turkish; please click the slide to see all the pages
a WOMAN artist’s ‘room of her own’
To gain back their bodies captured by the time, women firstly questioned the images, icons and metaphors fit onto them by the male dominated culture. Since the beginning of 1960’s, by suggesting new concepts and materials, they have been reinforcing the criticizing power of art, and everyday, they were even more courageous and fearless by recognizing their individuality. While the struggle to get gallery and museum shows was rising, the most significant, extraordinary and surprising artworks were being created. The main 'concern' being the personal space of the woman, the main 'medium' was their own bodies.
'My Poses Are Permanent' exhibition artist's statement / 'Pozlarım Kalıcı' sergisi sanatçı yazısı
The art of creating a humanbeing!
All of a sudden, the meaning and the flow of life changes. A completely different kind of love than the ones you know... the smell of tinyness... the glitter of their gaze... communication of the eyes... all amaze you. I define it as ‘entering another dimension’.
You leave the existing path of your life, and start traveling on another one. Half-awake, half-dreaming, in a state of ecstasy, you start gazing to what's happening. Shaped around the baby's life, yours restarts.
Not to miss a moment, one desires to record all of the unique moments. As if your lovely being will disappear in time, and those recirds will bring it back; well at least virtually...
'A Post-September 11 Art City' article by Paker for Our Art World magazine, Winter 2002 /
'11 Eylül Sonrası Bir Sanat Kenti' Paker yazısı, Sanat Dünyamız, Kış 2002
(Only in Turkish)
Çoğu zaman yoğun ve yorucu, ama bir o kadar ilham verici, uyarıcı bir şehirdi New York; her zaman canlı renkli, aktif, çelişki ve çeşitlilik dolu bir yer. Çoğu doğma-büyüme buralı olmayan şehir sakini de bu yüzden mekan edinmiştir burayı; bir köşesinde muhakkak kendine dair bir şeyler vardır. Yoksa bile var eder kendi...
My interactive web art piece, Path to Wisdom, in the format of a virtual maze game is in the permanent collection of Istanbul Contemporary Art Museum, an online museum, founded and curated by Genco Gulan. 2001
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Labirent oyunu formundaki interaktif web eserim Bilgeliğe Giden Yol, sanal bir müze olan Istanbul Çağdaş Sanat Müzesi'nin kalıcı koleksiyonunda yer aldı; kurucusu ve küratörü: Genco Gulan. 2001
'Four Person Show' exhibition catalog / '4 Kişilik Gösteri' sergi katalogu
Ozlem Paker observed widely the status of women in traditional, religious, and repressive societies, and later started to employ her artwork to address issues such as women's social, physical, and psychological integrity. Her mixed media on stretched and layered on canvas works act as the female body with various treatments applied. It seems like each piece 'IS NOT THE WHOLE'. Fragments are clasped together revealing the connecting fiber of violation in an attempt to control, and each fragment retains some memory of the original structure. When clasped together, this act of shaggy layering represents the bulk of recent history and symbolizes social manipulations, demonstrating control and power.