Murat Yildiz is an artist living and working in Istanbul and the founder of Dream News and the co-founder of HAH Kolektif based Istanbul. (1984, Giresun/Turkey)
Rather than “power relations,” I focus on the “power of relations.” In my practice, I make visible the constant forming interactions between all kinds of subjects. We are all porous pools. Our existence is formed by things that are accumulated within us. The striking part is that things exuding from our pores fill other’s pools. Inside involves the outside, while outside the inside.
How this power of relations shapes each subject? I explore the way subjects form and can form each other through periodical publishings, drawings and installations.
In certain publications I document the fluttered words unwittingly hitting my ears at a given moment/place to perceive their forming effects. In others, I probe the effect of our hopes and wishes on shaping the future. Furthermore, with collaborative experiments I intend to empower the forming capacity of dreams by spreading and multiplying them.
My current drawings made non-eye centric, show various layouts and possibilities formed by memory disunity and randomness. Sensory restrains break the connection of images by scattering them around. The drawings are sensitive and dependent to their environment, directly including both the formal and contextual suggestions of people around. Highlighting the compositions of various situations and minds.
In my installations, I inquire about the powerful effects of common perceptions. I make handmade rulers to explore opposing forming relations. One is the environment shaping standard rulers, the other unconventional rulers attempting to shape their environment.
In conclusion, I am fascinated by the power of relations. I continue my research to understand the capacity of this potential with my experiments. I question whether instead of “power relations”, if we internalize the “power of relations” could we be more sensitive, responsible and accountable to our surroundings, and therefore could we reach a stage where all subjects can live up to their potential?