BEGUM MALKOCLAR | «Once There Was, Once There Wasn't»

28 Novembro 2024 16h00

BEGUM MALKOCLAR | Once There Was, Once There Wasn't

OPEN STUDIO | 28-29-30 Nov & 1 Dec 2024, 16:00-20:00
ARTIST TALK | 29 November 2024, 18:00

Zaratan is pleased to present «Once There Was, Once There Wasn't», an exhibition by Begum Malkoclar developed during her month-long residency. Malkoclar showcases a series of works-in-progress exploring the act of re-telling the past and reconnecting with our origins.
This project examines storytelling and how narratives shape our psychology, resonating with the universal language of myths. The work invites a contemplative state—an homage to light as guidance, a journey to uncover roots and belonging within the grand narrative of history.
The work encourages viewers to embrace a sense of calmness and fragility, immersing themselves in the intricate interplay of patterns, shapes, and colors. It offers an invitation to pause, reflect, and enter a dreamlike state—a meditation on the ephemeral nature of presence, light, stars, matter and time.
Using techniques such as collage-making, embroidery, and pattern design, the process itself mirrors the themes of breaking down and rebuilding, moving from fragments to wholeness. This act of creation illuminates the delicate and profound connection between existence and meaning, inviting a deeper exploration of how and why we compose meaning, how we communicate and preserve it, and how we access it across the continuum of time and space.
The exhibition features an artist encounter on November 30th at 6 PM and the release of a limited edition risograph poster created in collaboration with Zaratan.

BIO: BEGUM MALKOCLAR (b. 1999) is a Turkish artist working between Istanbul and London. Her art explores the intrinsic relationship between reality and fiction, reflecting the fluid and dynamic nature of memory. Engaging deeply with her cultural heritage, she examines how memories are shaped and transformed through a humanistic and intuitive lens. In her practice, Begum navigates fundamental themes of existence, investigating the formation of personal and cultural identities and the connections that bind humanity to nature. To bridge the past and present, she employs a diverse array of media, including analog and digital film, hand-drawn and digitally-created illustrations, embroidery, collages, and writing. Her work embodies a playful, childlike spirit, intertwining fiction and non-fiction in a theatrical restaging of narratives. As a contemporary artist, Begum actively seeks to uncover and preserve the past, embracing its vast possibilities while remaining open to new interpretations as her practice evolves. To her, the past is a mystery to be unraveled—one that requires the slow weaving of a tapestry across time and space, reinventing the unknowns through creative storytelling. In this process, she aims to construct a personal archive that examines expressions of memory—dreams, myths, and stories—developing an alternative historical perspective on human experience and deepening her understanding of the self. Begum Malkoclar holds a BA from Pratt Institute in New York City and a Master’s in Contemporary Art Practice from the Royal College of Art. She has participated in various group exhibitions in New York City, London and Istanbul.

LINK: @begummalkoclar | @bedoojournal