FGAP 2010 People's Choice Prize

Fikret Atay

born and resides in Turkey

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Artist's Works

The films of Fikret Atay are made with a handheld camera, showing in a simple and honest way, using only natural light, scenes closely linked to the life in Batman, a Kurdish city in Turkey close to the Iraq border. A central theme in Atay’s video and photography work is the idea of a void – the emptiness of existence in the periphery of the Turkish state, the complete lack of future, ideals and of identity for the young Kurdish population. His work deals both with a metaphysical void and a political, economical void which is linked to the structural problem of the Kurdish minority.

At PAC, Fikret Atay combines a new photograph with three films depicting the cultural shifts between two generations living in Batman.

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Theorists, 2008; Goall !!! 2009

Theorists, 2008; Goall !!! 2009; The country for old man, 2010

The country for old man, 2010

Goall!!!, 2009

Fikret Atay 48, Turkey

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Fikret Atay was born 1976 in Batman, Turkey. He graduated from the Fine Arts Faculty of Dicle University, Turkey. His videos offer short vignettes of life in his hometown Batman, a Kurdish city near the border between Turkey and Iraq. Atay’s work has been included in the Biennale of Sydney (2006), the Istanbul Biennial (2007), the Alexandria Biennale (2009) and the Biennale de Lyon (2009)

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