Cavusoglu, Ergin
Ergin Cavusoglu's multi-channel video installations explore the boundaries between the public and the private, the visible and the invisible, the legitimate and the contraband. Cavusoglu grew up in Bulgaria as a member of the Turkish minority during the Socialist regime, an experience that influenced his interest in issues of transmigration and surveillance. In 'Tahtakale' he captures the activities of a group of currency and gold traders on the black market housed in a baroque edifice of Istanbul’s Grand Bazaar. Two of the screens show the daily activities of the market traders, dealing in currency and gold. The third shows the so-called 'Hamals' (carriers), people who carry goods on their backs to the shops. The fourth is of scrolling text, depicting random phrases from their conversation. The traders run deals of questionable legality, but do so in the midst of the market crowds, where the modern exists within the archaic, and currency shifts are acted out in public. The spatial installation evokes the feel of the market place, with the traders in the heat of flurried activity. The name 'Tahtakale' is Turkish, and means 'Wooden Fortress'. It is also the name of the place where it was filmed within the Grand Bazaar.
Extracted from artist’s statement.
- Artwork Details: running time: 8 minutes
- Edition: 1 of 3 + 1 AP on DVD
- Material description: video installation
- Credit line: © the artist
- Theme:
- Medium: Film and Audio Visual
- Accession number: ACC17/2005