looking after a rose

2018 Performance

Close view of the performer’s lower legs and bare feet standing directly in dark soil among small planted rose trees. They wear loose pale trousers whose hems nearly touch the ground. Red roses, green leaves and thin stems emerge from the soil around their feet.

Seen from behind, the performer stands at a tall window in the dim room, holding a small cut rose in one hand while the other arm reaches upward to the window frame. Their head is turned slightly toward the rose. The performer appears almost as a silhouette against the grey daylight outside.

The performer sits low in the soil-covered room wearing a loose pale pink top and trousers, holding a cut rose and its leafy stem carefully in both hands. Their head is lowered and their gaze is directed toward the flower. A white bed and small rose plants growing from the dark soil surround them.

The performer, dressed in loose pale clothing, leans against the windowsill and looks outside through an open window. A fresh bleeding cut forms a red line along their left forearm. Beside them, a visitor in a burgundy striped sweater and white knitted cap sits at a small wooden table, looking down and reading the performer’s open notebook. The two occupy the same room without touching or looking at one another.

Seen through the hazy, reflective filtered glass, the performer sits low on the soil-covered floor with their knees drawn toward their body, dressed in loose pale clothing. A fresh cut on their left forearm leaves a distinct line of blood along the skin. Their left arm extends outward while they look downward toward the floor. An open white box containing objects sits beside them among small planted rose trees and a white cushion.

Seen through the hazy, reflective filtered glass, the performer sits on the soil-covered floor wearing a deep red hooded top and loose pale trousers. With their head bent down and their left arm resting across their body, they use a scalpel against the skin of their left forearm. A fresh red line is visible on the arm. The softened image through the glass partially obscures the body while keeping the cutting gesture visible.

Night-time view through the filtered glass, with visitors appearing as dark, blurred silhouettes in the foreground. Inside the room, another visitor sits directly in front of the performer with their back toward the camera. The performer, dressed in red, faces them with eyes closed and both arms extending toward the visitor. Dried roses hang from the pale wall behind them, alongside handwritten marks and accumulated traces from the performance.

Seen through the hazy, reflective filtered glass, the performer sits with their knees drawn tightly toward their chest, dressed in dark clothing. One hand is raised to the side of their face and their body is folded into a compact posture. Reflections and the pale surface of the glass partly obscure their face and body.

Close view through the pale, reflective filtered glass. The performer is blindfolded with a wide black band and holds a red rose upright directly in front of their face, one hand around its stem and the other touching its leaves. Their head is slightly lowered toward the flower. The filtered glass, reflections and blindfold obscure the eyes and much of the face, leaving the hands and rose among the clearest elements of the image.

The performer sits curled beside a window in the dim room, wearing a deep red hooded top and loose pale trousers. Their knees are drawn toward their chest and one hand rests against their face as they look outward. Their posture is folded and heavy. A warm orange lamp, bottles and small everyday objects glow beside them, while handwritten marks and accumulated traces are visible on the pale wall.

The performer sits beside a window wearing a deep red hooded top, their head tilted back against the wall and eyes closed. Their hands rest loosely together in their lap and their body appears heavy and tired. A warm orange lamp and everyday objects sit beside them, while dried roses hang upside down from the wall above.

Photography: Gülbin Eriş, Kayhan Kaygusuz

"If they ask me what I've done these past years; I admired the beauty of a throned rose and hung onto it as I tried to keep it alive." — Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu

looking after a rose takes place 24 hours a day for a moon cycle, 28 days, in a room of 7 square meters covered with soil, planted little rose trees. The room is separated from the audience by a filtered glass panel through which the audience sees the room and Leman sees their own reflection. The audience is allowed to enter the room one by one when Leman leaves the door open. During the performance, Leman cuts a rose every sunrise, spends the whole day staring at the rose, and at every sunset, they give themselves a "time cut" and hang the rose on the wall.

They live in the 7 square meters for 28 days without getting out, without speaking.

Realized in the year following bomb explosions in Turkey, the work addresses the collective feelings of pessimism and helplessness under the political regime. With this performance, Leman embarks on their ongoing research on collective exhaustion and totalitarianism.