STORIA DI ISTANBUL

"Costantinopoli é una Babilonia, un mondo, un caos.
E bella? Prodigiosa.
E brutta? Orrenda.
Vi piace? Ubbriaca.
Ci stareste? Chi lo sa! Chi puo dire che starebbe in un altro astro? "

"Constantinople is a Babylon, a world, a chaos.
Is it beautiful? Marvellously.
Ugly? Horribly! So,
Do you like it? It facinates me.
Shall you remain? How on earth can I tell? Can anyone tell how long he is likely to stay on another planet? "
E. d. Amicis 1884


The whole is greater than its parts
"A friend of mine, Altan Adalı, once told me that the most difficult painting for an artist to do painting is a self- portrait.
“As you paint,” he said, “you’ll know immediately when you’re lying.”
Kaostantin is Siir’s self portrait of Istanbul.
You may say this is not the Istanbul I know.
If there’s a lie about the city, don’t look for it in her paintings.
For too long we have been deluded by our consumption of the city.
Not just through our gaping at grandoise projects undertaken by megalomaniac politicians and developers who can’t see beyond their greed, but also through our artists, writers and poets who only see the city in their own image. Şiir brings together composite images of the city and it’s people from everyday life.
Given its over 2000 year history, Istanbul having lived through empires, religions, earthquakes, and destruction from within and without, is a uniquely ephemeral city. Şiir’s paintings are not only a document to the future but a merry go round look at ourselves and Istanbul. Look carefully- you may even recognize yourself."
Gündüz Vassaf