A room of one’s own
The exhibition takes its name from the book A Room of One’s Own written by Virginia Woolf, one of the most remarkable modernist novelists of the 20th century. Woolf talks about the disadvantages of being a woman in the male-dominated art world – particularly in the literary scene – and proposes ways to bring out women’s creativity through stories that oscillate between reality and fiction.
The exhibition A Room of One’s Own brings together artists who resist convention and transcend boundaries in their documentary work that resemble fiction. Each artist seeks traces of their identity in the collective memory of their hometowns, traditions and tales of the past.
Cansu Yıldıran (b. 1996, Turkey) photographed her hometown Çaykara, in the Black Sea region of Turkey where tradition does not allow women to own homes or land. Even though seasonal migration is still a part of the culture of the region’s residents, most of whom are Greek descendants, women have further challenges to retain a sense of belonging and identity. Through the series Dispossessed Yıldıran embarks on a personal journey investigating her roots while posing questions on the power dynamics within an ever changing society.
Ofir Berman (b. 1991, Israel) captures the everyday life of a community that defies time and place in the middle of Israel, one of the world’s most technologically advanced countries. Inhabitants of Mea Shearim resist 21st century norms. This isolated neighbourhood invents its own rules. Wandering in Mea Shearim, Berman finds herself among “old” children and “young” adults – as if adults were trapped in the bodies of children. As an outsider, as a woman, as a photographer, she cannot hide from nor blend in with this environment. The camera becomes her only connection with the outside world where she is scared of being noticed.
In 80 Miles to Atlantis, Imane Djamil (b.1996, Morocco) photographs the inhabitants of the Saharan city of Tarfaya’s historical coast who live among the ghosts of the past. The remnants of the architecture that become her playground blend the colonial past and the post-colonial present of her hometown. The ruins come back to life in Djamil’s scenes which resemble movie stills blurring the lines between reality and myth. The artist presents a critique of the state’s apathy towards preserving its cultural heritage.