3D SUNSET_the soul of the earth city shows how visual artist Fahrettin Orenli, of hybrid ethnical origin, moves between the realities of countries, cities and cultures. Orenli questions in his work both the geographic and the formal boundaries of symbolism and artistic disciplines, which sometimes leads to absurdist images. As an interdisciplinary artist he investigates, within this broad scope, the relationship of humans as a social construct to their urban surroundings and to nature. The artist is concerned with the question of how social structure is transformed through the experience of migration and diverse situations. He wonders whether this is the way in which society and social order are systematically formed.
Central to this investigation is the notion of the city as a growing organic platform. 3D SUNSET_ the soul of the earth city shows how cities are psychologically and physically shaped into a complex entity into which information deriving from other habitats is assimilated. Orenli looks for new ways in which aspects of life, nature, and the urban environment fuse to form a new reality. Phenomena such as grafting or plastic surgery, which recur repeatedly in his work, stand as a symbol for the way in which humans have taken the upper hand over nature in order to create a new reality. Orenli has used methylene – blue ink used by plastic surgeons to indicate what needs to be corrected on the body – in several of his drawings as a metaphor. This raises the ambivalent question of the extent to which the life we lead, within this organic platform, is artificial. On the basis of his investigation and findings, Orenli creates an idea of the future in which the city, as a bearer of information and knowledge, is an organic construct, no longer dependent on its inhabitants. Is it possible that through these factors the city will eventually form its own soul, ‘the soul of the earth city’?
This show at BRADWOLFF PROJECTS is an extension of the project ‘Conspiracy Wall > ANARTIST’ 2004- 2014, that was recently published as an artist book. The exhibition consists of new works and a selection from ‘Conspiracy Wall> ANARTIST. During the special event at SMBA on April 7th the artist book will be discussed and exhibited at the same time.
Fahrettin Orenli [1969, Turkey] lives and works in Istanbul and Amsterdam. He studied at the Gerrit Rietveld Academie, and Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Netherlands. His work has been exhibited international amongst others at Istanbul Modern (TR), Total Museum of Contemporary Art (KR) and Frieze Art Fair (UK). Orenli has completed residency programs in several places such as Istanbul, China and New York. He was awarded with the ABN AMRO Art Prize, Amsterdam, and Royal Painting Prize, Amsterdam. His work is in several collections such as AMC, The Vehbi Koç Foundation, ABN-AMRO and OCE Technologie collection.