Sarkis: Çaylak Sokak

Arter Publications’ extended programme includes the launch of two new series which accompany the opening of the institution’s new building in Dolapdere: the first is entitled Arter Close-Up and offers a closer look into a selected work from its collection; which contains more than 1,300 works as of 2019. The CloseUp series starts its journey with Sarkis’s iconic work Çaylak Sokak - an artwork that is deemed to be one of the turning points in the history of contemporary art in Turkey. The artwork, which was first exhibited at the Maçka Art Gallery in 1986, and then took part in the Wizards of the Earth exhibition at the Centre Pompidou in Paris in 1989, bears the same name as the street in the Talimhane district of Istanbul where Sarkis was born and raised. It is displayed once more as part of the exhibition What Time Is It? opened at the Arter’s new building in Dolapdere. Authored by Emre Baykal, the chief curator of Arter, Çaylak Sokak offers not only a multilayered reading of Sarkis’ work in different contexts intertwined with political and cultural history but also provides a personal journey constructed around the work itself. The book, designed by Esen Karol, takes a journey into the artist’s personal history accompanied by photographs taken by Hadiye Cangökçe.