Zeynep Kayan: one one two one two three

Zeynep Kayan’s solo exhibition one one two one two three comprises videos and stills presented both individually and in series. Over the years, the artist often referenced dance choreographies, for example, the performance Accumulation by Trisha Brown, which the choreographer described as: “One simple gesture is presented. This gesture is repeated until it is thoroughly integrated into my kinesthetic system. Gesture two is then added. Gestures one and two are repeated until they are assimilated, then gesture three is added. I continue adding gestures until my system can support no further additions.” The title of the exhibition is in step with this rhythm of repeat and variation: one one two one two three.

This principle becomes apparent in the work mirror I, which acts as an introduction to the exhibition. The video shows a figure with a darkly shadowed face, seated on a chair—it is the artist herself. We see the figure from the front and, behind it to the side, the same projection again, as in a mise en abyme. We look at the figure in the projection at the front as it reacts to the acoustic impulses of the chair moving backwards behind it, before also sliding its chair backwards. The movement of the figure at the back is being imitated with a time delay by the figure at the front. It is a continuous moving back and reactive catching-up of the distance. Repetition plays a central role in Zeynep Kayan’s works, or as Mika Hannula observed in discussion with the artist: “repeating forwards”, “repeating as opening something up”.

In the first room, we have a frontal view of this projection. We approach the video at the same time as both figures move backwards in an acoustic dialogue as if retreating from the observer out of the exhibition. The first video sets the rhythm for the exhibition, a movement that draws the observer into the space and points beyond it. But we also see as observers that the space in the video behind the figure is limited. The retreating is in vain, or in Kayan’s own words: “we want to retreat but then again not too far”. Retreating, making room, opening up the space but also provoking confrontation – this leads into the theme of this exhibition. A parenthesis is opened and in the final room, where a video shows the artist behind the camera, it is closed; but here, too, the line of vision leads outside the rooms or towards us as observers: we ourselves become an object of observation.

Zeynep Kayan systematically alters limited movement material and tries it out inconsistently new variations that form part of a movement inventory and express different emotions, including also frustration, which is provoked if the movements are too complicated or the space too tight. Repetitions are often the result of wrong movements. Failure can lead to deviations and improvisation. When making fresh attempts, chance occurrences can often open up unexpected possibilities. Our every experience is similar. It is recognition that gives rise to the inner cohesion of these works.

Zeynep Kayan (1986, Ankara) graduated from the Faculty of Communication and Design, Bilkent University, and received her MA degree in Fine Arts from MaHKU, Utrecht, The Netherlands. From September 2022, Zeynep Kayan will be an Artist in Residence at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, Amsterdam, The Netherlands. She is co-founder of the independent art space Torun in Ankara.

Text: Lotte Laub

Accompanying the exhibition, a catalog featuring an essay by Alper Turan, a conversation between Mika Hannula and Zeynep Kayan and an introduction by Lotte Laub will be published.