Hello, I'm Leman, a Woman Artist from Turkey

2017 Multimedia installation, Video

Close view of the performer’s nude torso against a dark background as another performer stitches directly into the skin. A crescent moon and star, the symbols of the Turkish flag, are outlined in dark thread across the chest and upper abdomen, with loose thread hanging from the stitched star. Existing tattoos remain visible around the stitched image.

Rear view of the nude performer standing against a dark background between two performers dressed in black who stitch directly onto their body. One works at the lower back while the other works near the shoulder and upper torso. Thread and stitched lines are visible across the skin among existing tattoos.

Frontal view of the nude performer standing upright against a dark background between two performers dressed in black who stitch directly onto their body. One bends toward the abdomen while the other reaches toward the body from behind. Fine stitched outlines and loose thread cross the chest and torso among existing tattoos; the performer faces forward with their gaze directed slightly to one side.

Photography: Merve Bektaş

Hello, I'm Leman, a Woman Artist from Turkey was created for the exhibition Asian Women Artists. The work questions identity classifications imposed upon bodies, departing from the idea that categories such as sex, gender, and national identity are inscribed onto the body and maintained through their repetition.

In the video performance, Darıcıoğlu stands nude while two performers stitch symbols directly onto their body: a male performer stitches the crescent moon and star of the Turkish flag, while a female performer stitches the female symbol.

The installation consists of the video performance and two notebooks: the handmade A Woman Artist from Turkey and the printed The Diary of the Body, Desire, Love and Transformation, a text written by Darıcıoğlu.

The handmade notebook displayed open on a white shelf against a white wall. Cream-coloured pages rise loosely from a dark cover, revealing black hand-drawn or written marks across several pages. The small book is isolated within the otherwise empty display surface.

Close view inside the handmade notebook. On the left page, the stitched words “A WOMAN ARTIST FROM TURKEY” appear in irregular black capital letters arranged across five lines. Part of the facing page is visible at right, with black marks and lines extending toward the fold.

Photography: Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu

On the cover of the handmade notebook, Darıcıoğlu stitched the words "A WOMAN ARTIST FROM TURKEY." Positioned between the video performance and The Diary of the Body, Desire, Love and Transformation, the notebook connects the different elements of the installation while pointing to identity as something constructed through accumulation and performative repetition.

The printed notebook The Diary of the Body, Desire, Love and Transformation displayed open on a white shelf against a white wall. Dense blocks of printed text fill the facing pages, while another printed sheet extends from behind the book at the left.

Closer frontal view of The Diary of the Body, Desire, Love and Transformation standing open on a white shelf. Dense printed paragraphs fill the left page, while the right page contains a shorter block of text and a vertically arranged list. The white pages and display surface nearly merge with the pale wall behind them.

Photography: Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu

The Diary of the Body, Desire, Love and Transformation approaches the possibility of an existence beyond assigned identities through an intimate narrative. Moving through sex, gender, sexuality, desire, the body, and transformation, the text traces how these forces act upon the self and how the self might, in turn, move beyond the categories imposed upon it.

PRESENTATION