In the Blink of A Bird

The project In the Blink of A Bird was initiated by the artist collective Sis*. Working collaboratively, Sis negotiates themes of freedom of expression, bureaucracy, and immigration. In Turkey, print and radio media in particular are increasingly subject to regulations that restrict freedom of speech. To demonstrate the subversive potential of these media, the artists of the collective chose techniques from these fields for their work.
 
In May 2017, Depo Istanbul hosted the first exhibition of In the Blink of A Bird, a multimedia installation that included Incoming Papers (printed matter) and HisTV (video works). Unfolding between these two poles, the current exhibition at the nGbK integrates additional content by employing materials that have been gathered over the past two years. During this time, many people from Turkey have moved to Europe, and mainly to Berlin. Therefore, the notion of relocating is conceptually taken into account in the exhibition. For the nGbK, Sis developed new modules for their installation, like a wall newspaper and a printing press as well as the Bureaucratic Application Anxiety Consultation Agency. A new performance devised for this fictive agency, which offers to help newcomers navigate the bureaucratic jungle, will be presented to the public twice during the exhibition period.
 
*Sis is a collective of artists from Turkey founded in 2016 during a stay in the project space Apartment Project in Berlin. The increasing suppression of freedom of speech in Turkey forced the artists to work with indirect forms of expression. Since then, Sis has been exploring collective production. The collective is constantly shifting in size, and coming together in different constellations, with new members actively joining while others are stepping aside.
 

Sis Collective and collaborators:
Selda Asal, Özgür Atlagan, Birgit Auf der Lauer & Caspar Pauli, Fatma Belkıs, Berk Asal, Emre Birişmen, Savaş Boyraz, Şafak Çatalbaş, Onur Ceritoğlu, Ece Gökalp, Yasemin Nur, Gümüş Özdeş, Ceren Oykut, Melih Sarıgöl, Özlem Sarıyıldız, Sandra Schäfer, Nihan Somay, Gökçe Süvari, Berkay Tuncay, Merve Ünsal, Seçil Yersel & Özge Açıkkol
TheFirstPaperWorkers: Evrim Kavcar, Güneş Terkol
TheSecondPaperWorkers: Şahika Aslantürkiyeli, Hakan Öktem, Hüseyin Varaha
TheThirdPaperWorkers: Zümrüt Çavuşoğlu, Senem Denli, Özgür Erkök Moroder, Sina Muehleisen
Publication Editors: Erden Kosova, Umut Yıldırım
Incoming Papers Archive: Hera Büyüktaşcıyan, Didem Erk, Bengi Güldoğan, Gülsün Karamustafa, Evrim Kavcar, Komet, Göksu Kunak, Ali Miharbi, Sevgi Ortaç, İz Öztat, İrem Tok
HisTV Archive: İmre Azem, Mehtap Baydu, Elmas Deniz, Gaye Günay, Borga Kantürk, Evrim Kavcar, Zeynep Kayan, Ezgi Kılınçaslan, Artıkişler Kolektifi, Julia Lazarus, Lara Ögel, Azra Deniz Okyay, Florian Wüst

nGbK project group: Berk Asal, Fatma Belkıs, Gümüş Özdeş, Kristina Kramer, Özgür Atlagan, Şafak Çatalbaş, Selda Asal, Yasemin Nur

Events in the exhibition space:

Friday, April 26, 2019
5:30pm
Performance (EN)
Sis Collective, In the Blink of A Bird (second rendition)

6pm
Performance (EN)
Birgit Auf der Lauer & Caspar, Pauli Operating the Hayal Machine

7pm
Opening of the exhibition

9pm
Performance (EN)
Ceren Oykut & Fezaya Firar, Black on Black

Tuesday, April 302019
1-5pm
Newspaper Workshop (EN/TR) by Sis Collective

6:30pm
HisTV Studio Session, Live program
Hands Off My Friend with the group "Friends of Osman Kavala"
With: Shermin Langhoff, Arsinée Khanjian; Camera: Selda Asal, Sandra Schäfer, Savaş Boyraz; Presenter: Erden Kosova

Friday, May 3, 2019
1-6pm
HisTV Open Studio, Recordings

Saturday, May 4, 2019
2pm
Panel discussion (EN)
"What’s Not Happening in Istanbul?"
With:  Asena Günal, Merve Ünsal, Fatma Belkıs, Chaired by: Ingo Arend

4:30pm
Panel discussion (EN)
"Art At Stake / What are the limits of free expression for an artist?"
With: Ceren Oykut, Selda Asal, Umut Yıldırım; Chaired by: Yasemin Nur  

7pm 
Panel discussion (EN)
"'New Wave' Migration from Turkey: Displacement, Survival and Solidarity"
With: Onur Ceritoğlu, Özlem Sarıyıldız, Tuba İnal Çekiç; Chaired by: Özge Yaka

Tuesday, May 14, 2019
1-5pm
Newspaper Workshop (EN/TR) by Sis Collective

5pm
Performance (EN)
Birgit Auf der Lauer & Caspar Pauli, Operating the Hayal Machine

Wednesday, May 15, 2019
3pm
HisTV Open Studio, Recordings

6pm
Performance
Şafak Çatalbaş, Post Truth Spa Center - seance02
 
Saturday, May 18, 2019
5:30-7:30pm
Newspaper Workshop (EN/TR) by Sis Collective

Thursday, May 23, 2019
1-6pm
HisTV Open Studio, Recordings

Monday, May 27, 2019
4:30pm
Lecture (DE)
"Erinnerung und Vergessen in einem Bild: Strategien und Deklinationen des Bildes in totalitären Systemen" by Zeynep Sayın

Tuesday, May 28, 2019
6pm
Film screening and discussion (EN)
Turkey on the Edge (2017, 53 min.) by İmre Azem

Saturday, June 1, 2019
5:30pm
Performance
Sis Collective, In the Blink of A Bird (second rendition)

6pm
Performance (EN)
Birgit Auf der Lauer & Caspar Pauli, Operating the Hayal Machine