Angelus Altera

2022 Performance
Performance: First 3.5 Hours
A large irregular crack cuts across a white installation wall. Visitors stand close to the wall and peer through different openings along the crack to see the performance concealed on the other side, where the performer lies beneath an old door. One visitor bends their head toward an opening while others gather along the adjoining section of the cracked wall.
View through a narrow opening in the large crack cutting across the white installation wall. On the other side, the performer is concealed beneath an old door lying horizontally in the performance space; only a partial view through the crack is available to the viewer.
View through a long jagged opening in the large crack across the white installation wall. Through the dark opening, part of the old door beneath which the performer lies is visible, keeping most of the performance concealed.
View through an irregular opening in the cracked white installation wall. On the other side, the performer lies beneath an old door placed horizontally on the grey floor; part of their face and one hand appear beyond the door while most of their body remains hidden.
View through an irregular opening in the large crack across the white installation wall. Beyond it, the performer lies on the grey floor beneath an old door, with their face and one hand visible through the restricted opening.
View through a narrow opening in the cracked white installation wall onto the concealed performance. The performer lies beneath an old door on the grey floor, with their face and one outstretched hand visible through the crack.
Photography: Emirhan Çorut, Ali Berkay Bilge

Taking departure from the 90s archive of Turkey's performance art history, Angelus Altera addresses the relationality between the notions of heritage and future. To understand ever-changing borders and boundaries of the 90s, the performance first looks to the 80s and navigates by drawing analogies between coup d'état memory, the queer movement in Turkey, the HIV/AIDS crisis and performance art history.

From a queer perspective, Angelus Altera investigates hegemonic history, past and present, by focusing on the notions of visibility & invisibility, (op)pressure & ease, (en)closure & opening/coming out through the body and opens itself to the future.

A reflection on Angelus Altera can be read in Protodispatch by Protocinema.

The performer kneels among piles of construction sand filled with coloured glitter in front of a black wall. Wearing a beige draped garment, black underwear and tall black platform boots, they pitch their upper body forward, their very long black hair falling into the sand. A vivid concentration of blue glitter runs through the pile in the foreground.
Photography: Emirhan Çorut
Performance: Following 3.5 Hours
Wide view of the black-walled performance space. The performer stands at the back in a beige draped garment, black underwear and tall black platform boots, surrounded by separate piles of construction sand filled with coloured glitter across the floor, their body poised between the piles.
The performer bends sharply forward over a pile of construction sand filled with coloured glitter, throwing their very long black hair downward into the sand. Their face is hidden by the force and sweep of the hair; they wear a beige draped garment, black underwear and tall black platform boots.
The performer stands with legs apart beside a pile of construction sand filled with coloured glitter, torso folded forward and hands held low between their thighs. Their very long black hair whips across and obscures their face, conveying the force of the repeated movement.
The performer throws their upper body sideways over a pile of construction sand filled with coloured glitter, one arm dropping toward the floor as their very long black hair whips outward with the movement. The beige draped garment opens over black underwear and tall black platform boots.
The performer stands astride a pile of construction sand filled with coloured glitter and folds forcefully forward, reaching both hands into the sand as their very long black hair falls and sweeps through it. Their face is completely obscured by the hair.
Seen from behind, the performer stands with legs apart over a pile of construction sand filled with coloured glitter, both hands drawn behind their lower back. Their very long black hair hangs down the beige draped garment as their body holds a tense, upright position above the pile.
The performer has fallen back into the construction sand and lies with knees bent, one hand on their chest and the other across their abdomen. Their very long black hair spreads through the sand around their head and the beige garment gathers around their body; coloured glitter is mixed through the disturbed pile.
The performer curls tightly on their side in the construction sand, knees pulled toward the chest and forehead close to the floor, as if folding inward after a fall. Their very long black hair spreads through the sand beside the beige garment and black platform boots, with coloured glitter dispersed through the pile.
The performer kneels low among piles of construction sand filled with coloured glitter, bracing their weight on one hand while the other reaches into the sand. Their torso dips toward the floor and their very long black hair falls forward, obscuring their face.
Close view of the performance floor after repeated movement through the material. Construction sand has been pushed into low piles, furrows and tracks, with a vivid band of blue glitter spread through one section; the kneeling performer is partly visible at the right edge.
The performer kneels between piles of construction sand filled with coloured glitter, torso folded heavily forward while one arm stretches sideways to press against the black wall for support. Their very long black hair hangs to the floor and completely obscures their face.
The performer pushes up from a low crouch beside a pile of construction sand filled with coloured glitter, torso pitched forward and both arms thrown backward. Their very long black hair whips across the front of their face as they rise, emphasizing the force and instability of the movement.
The performer kneels behind a pile of construction sand filled with coloured glitter, both hands pressing and working into the sand while their very long black hair hangs forward and completely covers their face. Other glitter-filled piles extend across the floor behind them.
Cropped side view of the performer standing amid disturbed construction sand and coloured glitter. Their beige draped garment falls open over black underwear and tall black platform boots; tattoos are visible on the bare upper arm and thigh, and the body appears momentarily upright between more forceful movements.
Seen past the dark silhouettes of audience members, the performer bends deeply forward among piles of construction sand filled with coloured glitter. Their very long black hair drops toward the floor, obscuring their face as the body folds into the movement against the black wall.
Photography: Emirhan Çorut, Ali Berkay Bilge
After the Performance
The performance space after the action: construction sand covers much of the floor in disturbed piles, tracks and furrows created by the performer’s movements. Blue and other coloured glitter is scattered and mixed through the sand, leaving vivid traces across the pale material.
Close view of the remains after the performance. Folded pieces of the beige costume lie over a white strip bearing handwritten Turkish text, surrounded by disturbed construction sand and scattered blue and other coloured glitter.
Photography: Ali Berkay Bilge
Bilsart
Dark exhibition view at Bilsart. Two large video projections meet across adjacent walls, showing documentation of the performance space with pale material on the floor and the performer kneeling; a visitor stands facing the projections, and a framed artwork hangs on the wall at left.
Dark Bilsart exhibition view with two large projections across adjoining walls. The larger projection shows the performer kneeling in the pale material near a white architectural structure, while two visitors stand in silhouette watching from the foreground.
Dark Bilsart exhibition view. A large projection on a white wall shows a close-up of the performer’s face and upper body during the performance, illuminated against darkness; seated and standing visitors appear as silhouettes in the foreground.
High-angle view of the dark Bilsart exhibition. A large projection on the right wall shows the performer bent forward beside a pale mound, while a framed figurative artwork is illuminated on the adjoining wall and a low bench sits in the dim room.
Photography: Bilsart
Presentations
Eternal Life, Bilsart, Istanbul, TR, 2024
90s on stage, curated by Amira Arzık, realized in collaboration between Performistanbul and Salt Beyoğlu and with the support of monoco.io, Salt Beyoğlu, Istanbul, TR, 2022
Credits
Angelus Altera, by Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu, performance, 7 hours; two consecutive sequences in a row, 2022
Costume: Mert Yemenicioğlu
Advisor: Simge Burhanoğlu
The text with the Walter Benjamin reference was written with Natis fka. Hasan Aksaygın
Acknowledgment: Ali Emir Tapan, Ayşe Gülru Sarpel, İsmail İnan, Must Kika, Natis aka. Hasan Aksaygın
Performance Chronopolitics Non-Western Queerness Resistance Long-durational Queer Reappropriation Collective Memory Glitter
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