Timeless: Kirkor Sahakoğlu
Past exhibition
Overview
We are at the point where fact and lie intersect, misleading us to see ourselves in a different position. Sometimes we defect to this contrast as if we’re looking for harmony. We are hasty because we are captives of unrepeatable moments. But only coincidence reveals things to us.
We wish for nothing to wither, even being aware that the real “moment” lapsing is actually yesterday.
-Kirkor Sahakoğlu
“Timeless” brings together more than 35 of Kirkor Sahakoğlu’s most recent works, which question the relation between time and space, and stands right in the middle of the past and the future, just like the space of the exhibition itself.
Kirkor Sahakoğlu’s new exhibition seeks to answer the question “Does time possess a separate reality that is independent from the human mind?”, examining whether space is a fundamental phenomenon that reinforces the concept of belonging in humans while the venue of the exhibition also participates in the discussion. The venue in question is a 200-year-old derelict building in Karaköy, for which restoration work is due to commence shortly… This building, which was originally used as a wine warehouse, will be renovated with an extensive restoration after the exhibition and will open its doors to art enthusiasts as the new exhibition space of GALERİ 77 after completion.
Kirkor Sahakoğlu correlates with more than one time and space in the exhibition area; with his motto being “The only truth we have known for generations is that our own face is the one we know the least among all the surfaces we see” as he leads the audience to different questions. Inside this very special exhibition space where its past, its memories and tones are all blended perfectly with the works, the artist focuses on the individual and their dynamics of life within heterotopias.
A building full of stories, bearing the traces of the century
Located in Karaköy, Kemeraltı Caddesi, Şarap İskelesi Sokak (Wine Pier Street) No:7, the building first emerged as a wine store. The Wine Pier, which was located in the region around 200 years ago and gave its name to the street, had been a center where wine and raki are transported in barrels from the Aegean islands to Istanbul for years. This very building hosting the “Timeless” exhibition today was one of the warehouses where the wines carried by Greek sailors were stored in. The same building later hosted a Greek family business specialized in pastry. The smell of wine was replaced by the sweet scents of vanilla and violet sugar. After serving as a patisserie for years, it changed ownership over time and thus became the space for Tariş Wine. The building was purchased by Galeri 77 in 2019 and will be restored after Kirkor Sahakoğlu’s exhibition, to continue to bear witness to life as an art gallery.
Installation Views
