In the exhibition “penalty area” showcasing his recent work, artist Serkan Demir turns his lens to Syria, where a considerable part of the population has fled the country due to civil war and eventually acquired “refugee” status. Unfortunately, this involuntary itinerary for migration has become a “penalty area” for many of the displaced persons. Borrowing this concept from the vocabulary of the soccer world, the artist attempts to boost the visibility of migration stories that world has witnessed by way of putting together an epic narrative with images found from mass media.
Serkan Demir strives to create a map of cultural impressions whose departure point is often the political reality of his immediate environment. In this map closely related to Eastern myths and narratives, geographical strategies, mechanisms of intervention, and societal practices are made visible through a language laden with ironies. Through a material-oriented approach featuring installations, mobiles, and small-scale sculptures, the artist describes his works as texts for “visual investigation.”
Born in 1975 in Kahramanmaraş, Serkan Demir holds a BFA in art education from Gazi University (1999) and an MFA in sculpture from Hacettepe University Faculty of Fine Arts (2003). In 2009, he received his practice-based PhD in Fine Art from the Sculpture Department of Hacettepe University Faculty of Fine Arts. Demir is also one of the founders of Ankara-based Yaygara Contemporary Art Initiative. He lives in Bolu and continues to work and teach at Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Faculty of Fine Arts.
