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PRICE
Artist Statement
We live with many questions that we cannot answer. One of these questions is why people resort to violence so much and quickly.
What should we do to reduce and eliminate the violence inflicted by humans on humans, humans on animals and humans on nature?
On this mission, which is a multi-headed solution recipe that includes education, love, family and culture, we all have to fight and the administration must create the ground.
I believe that first and foremost that men and the state must prevent violence and discrimination against women by quelling that urge when it arises naturally.
These irresponsible and arbitrary behaviors cause unacceptable ugliness, pain that we cannot see with our eyes, wounds that cannot be repaired and the formation of damaged souls.
This exhibition is for you to feel the pain and despair of women who have been subjected to violence in the world and in our country, by following the metaphorical forms of the souls of women consisting of layers of pain that accumulate one after another starting from infancy.
"For a society where we would not be ashamed of being a man ..."
Metin Ünsal / October 2020
A CALL OUT FROM METİN ÜNSAL TO WOMEN’S SPIRIT
İpek Yeğinsü / October 2020
Man is brave enough to devote his life to a dream he can never reach. Every individual's journey is unique, every story is valuable in itself. But the meaning of being human lies in a kind of spiritual space that connects us both to each other and to the infinity of the universe. Although each soul speaks the language of its own desires, when it comes to suffering, that language suddenly becomes common. (...)
(...) Some pains, with each passing day, takes something away from the souls’ being... It takes away the self-esteem, joy of life and hopes for the future. As the layers of pain accumulate on the soul itself, the image the soul sees in the mirror becomes more and more alienated. Facing with what is left of itself, the soul drowns in a deep feeling of mourning. The dark shadows of its executioners begin to pass in front of the soul’s misty gaze. And all the places where once all those evils first touched it, aches all at once, as if each one had just happened yesterday. (...)
(...) Metin Ünsal's women-spirits know this pain very well. Their tissues, which were flawless when they were born, becomes almost had their skin peeled off, bleeding and turned into bodies scattered around with all the blows they took in life and social pressures. Although they have different stories, the nature of their pain is the same. Regardless of who they are, their age, education level and profession, the common feeling surrounding them is shame and loneliness. While Ünsal focuses on a wide variety of techniques and materials, it is precisely for this reason that he always represents them using the same abstract, amorphous, even flesh like texture. On the other hand, this texture turns into a shocking metaphor of bodily violence that permeates the soul of the individual, who is treated as a pile of flesh. (...)
(...) These lonely and sorrowful souls appear in Ünsal's paintings hanging in the void; their shaken self-perceptions and lost sense of belonging prevent the formation of a solid ground on which they can stand on. In addition, the effect of void increases the tension in the composition, forcing the viewer to pause for a moment and ponder the meanings of this uncanny scene. This effect, which takes its source from the composition, in objects and installations becomes operational through the space itself. In other words, the laws of the universe created by Ünsal maintain their validity in both two and three dimensional spaces. Furthermore, these forms, which are deeply related to each other, do not neglect to rely on the nude tradition, whose influence was felt in Ünsal's early works, by giving occasional greetings to important female figures in art history. Yet they remain so abstract, sublimated, and universal that they are not confined to any periodic or geographical context. (...)
(...) The sensitive approach that Ünsal brings to the subject in his original language does not mean that we will be content with showing empathy with the victim and accept what is happening; on the contrary, the main starting point of the artist is his unwavering belief that we can change the situation as individuals who make up society. Based on this belief, he encourages his audience to realize the problematic perspectives that society is accustomed to; then from this awareness, invites you to produce a rational activism. Underlining that the souls are not really alone; that its ores can be awakened together. Moreover, although Ünsal's main issue is physical and mental violence, the concepts he discusses over his art go beyond this context. After all, it hurts the souls of nature, animals, children and human communities in every corner of our planet; that power-dependent, selfish mindset lies at the heart of all actions that kill instead of sustain, consume instead of produce. This is what we should remember, never forget the meaning of being human, and eliminate it together and immediately.
There is absolute dawn, though the night and the dark pursue the soul. There is absolute hope!
Rafet Arslan / October 2020
Spirit carries a load, across ranges.
The soul accumulates.
The soul appears silent, speaks in the silent language of an ancient tree or wild animal.
It calls out to the heart and spirit, not to the ears.
Its communication is telepathic.
Is it just a painting or a sculpture we are looking at? Look, darkened souls are swaying in space.
For those who pay the price, we will make them pay the price, with a clear mind; with clean and determined hearts.
Metin Ünsal, the light of the flare he fired with the "Destruction" exhibition within the "Atonal 9" project in 2019, now expands to the "Price". Then, to different cities, with the light he received from feminine spirits, in an effort to move it among times.
Take good look of the souls swinging in the void in these eerie scenes!
Despite the extent of the devastation the feminine soul has suffered, the determination of life is a resistance.
There is absolute dawn, though the night and the dark pursue the soul. There is absolute hope!
Please contact for more detailed information about Metin Ünsal's solo exhibition 'Price', which takes place online between 29 October - 31 December 2020 within the body of 44A Art Gallery, curated by Rafet Arslan.
44A Art Gallery
t: +90 (212) 233 34 80
a: Ahmet Fetgari Sk. No:44
34365 Teşvikiye İstanbul
