Hidden On The Walls

The show comprises contemporary art reproductions of posters featuring various cultural and political content that have long become a common sight on walls in modern cities. Urban walls without owners function sometimes as spaces of resistance, other times they are means to alternative ways of expression against all the elements of order that come with the modern world. The artist makes this multi-layered situation the fundamental element of his artistic production. Making use of images created since the 1960s, Bıçaklıoğlu’s works sometimes reference politics, other times they are to be understood subtextually. By raising the relationships of colors, textures, materials and figures between the layers to the level of singular artworks, the artist creates highly impressive works that surpass the level of everyday perception.
Historically, two movements have lead the way to contemporary art: new avantgarde and pop art. New avantgarde tended to utilize images to refer to ”situations” and “events”, instead of aiming for aesthetically pleasing creations. This provided the necessary space for many artists to be able to move freely within the city while avoiding the simulation and the domination of commercial-institutional constructs. Pop art artists on the other hand directly reproduced the consumption ideology of the capitalist system, exposing it with a counter strategy. By making use of these two strategies at once, Alper Bıçaklıoğlu creates a new and functional path for a new generation of contemporary artists.
“Hidden on the Walls” can be seen at ALAN Istanbul between the dates March 1, 2016 – April 2, 2016.