SAFE HERE

2021 Performance
Close view through the transparent wall of a glass box in which the performer is locked. They stand immediately inside with both hands raised toward the glass, one palm spread above their forehead and the other held near their face. Their mouth is open as they breathe toward the surface, their posture tense and alert, while reflections partly double their face and hands and emphasize the transparent boundary enclosing them.
Locked inside a transparent glass box, the performer crouches very low near the floor, folding their body inward with one hand held against the side of their face. Their posture appears withdrawn and exhausted against the rigid vertical walls enclosing them. Outside the box, pale stone walls, an arched interior and large abstract artworks emphasize the openness of the surrounding gallery.
Inside the transparent glass box, the performer sits on the floor with their legs folded to one side, leaning on one arm while lifting the other hand close to their face. Their mouth is open as they breathe toward the glass, and their low, folded posture appears tired and vulnerable within the enclosure. A white water bottle stands on the floor inside the box.
Close view through the wall of the transparent glass box. The performer stands very near the glass with eyes lowered and one hand raised close to their mouth. Their face appears quiet, concentrated and vulnerable as they breathe at close range; condensation and reflections soften and partially double their features against the enclosing surface.
Locked inside the transparent glass box, the performer stands with both arms stretched widely outward and their head thrown far back, exposing their throat. The expansive, straining gesture pushes toward the limits of the enclosure: the body opens as far as it can while remaining contained. They wear loose black clothing over a black T-shirt with multicoloured lettering.
Inside the transparent glass box, the performer stands close to its wall with their mouth open, one hand raised beside their face and the other lifted above shoulder height. Their body appears tense and searching as their hands and breath reach toward the transparent boundary while the enclosure keeps them physically contained.
Close portrait through the wall of the glass box. The performer’s eyes are closed and their mouth opens wide in an exhalation, while one hand rises delicately near their mouth with curved fingers. Their expression and gesture appear strained yet vulnerable, with soft reflections on the glass reinforcing the closeness of the enclosing surface.
Wide gallery view of the performer locked inside a tall transparent glass box. They sit low on its floor near one wall, one hand raised close to their face, their posture appearing tired and withdrawn. A white water bottle stands inside beside them. Beyond the enclosure, the gallery opens into pale brick and stone walls, a high arch and large light-toned artworks.
Close view through the glass box wall. The performer stands with their mouth open as they breathe toward the surface, both hands raised with palms facing outward and fingers spread. Their concentrated body reaches toward the transparent boundary with face, hands and breath while remaining visibly enclosed behind it.
Inside the transparent glass box, the performer presses both open palms firmly against its walls, stretching their arms in opposite directions as their body leans into the enclosure. Their concentrated posture tests the physical limits of the box and uses its walls for resistance, the transparent structure keeping the body completely visible while physically contained.
Frontal close view through the transparent glass box. The performer stands with their mouth open in a forceful exhalation, one hand lifted beside their head and the other reaching outward. Their expression appears intense and strained as breath and gesture push toward the enclosing surface; reflections and marks on the glass partially overlay their face and black clothing.
Long view through the gallery architecture toward the performer locked inside a tall transparent glass box. Framed by dark window structures and a large white arch, they appear small within the spacious pale interior, standing with one arm raised toward the glass. The contrast between the open gallery and the confined body makes the enclosure especially visible.
Long gallery view of the performer inside the transparent glass box, framed by a high white arch and dark window structures. They stand with both arms stretched outward toward opposite sides of the enclosure, their black-clad body appearing contained within the narrow transparent structure against the pale, largely empty gallery.
Close side portrait at the wall of the transparent glass box. The performer stands almost face-to-face with their own reflection, eyes lowered and expression concentrated and inward. Their face is doubled across the glass, bringing their body into an intimate confrontation with the transparent boundary enclosing them.
Overhead close view of the performer lying on the floor inside the transparent glass box in loose black clothing. One forearm crosses above their face while the other hand rests near their chest; their eyes are partly closed and their mouth is open. Their horizontal body appears exhausted and vulnerable, still visibly contained by the enclosure while at rest.
Photography: Derin Cankaya

SAFE HERE is a critique of European immigration politics and gaze towards immigrants from the "Global South." The 5 days long (6 hours each day) live performance addresses how Europe victimises and fetishises the migrants in order to create the European dream while building an image as a safety and freedom provider of itself.

Starting from here, SAFE HERE engages with the act of breathing as a backbone of living, as a matter of life/death, as a reciprocation and connection within the one and others and attempts to reveal vulnerability and fragility of the body as well as manifesting its strength.

Close, shallow-focus view of the performer lying on the floor inside the transparent glass box. Their face recedes softly out of focus with mouth open, while one raised hand fills the foreground, palm turned outward toward the glass and fingers gently spread. The gesture appears fragile and searching, bringing the hand toward the transparent boundary while the body remains enclosed behind it.
Photography: Derin Cankaya
Presentations
SAFE HERE, within the collaboration of Haus der Kulturen Lübeck and Kunsthalle St. Annen, Kunsthalle St. Annen, Lübeck, DE, 2021
Credits
SAFE HERE, by Leman Sevda Darıcıoğlu, performance, 5 days, 6 hours each day, 2021
Styling: Letisya Tapan
Acknowledgment: Dr. Antje-Britt Mählmann, Hêja Ölki, Pascal Simm, Simge Burhanoğlu, Yener Bayramoğlu
Performance Migration Border Politics Long-durational Exhaustion Research Glass
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