Or: Curtains, the double-sided surfaces of society

By Heidi Trautmann

“Curtains are double-sided surfaces that separate people’s private lives from the public….” explains Oya Silbery, director of the ArtRooms and the curator of the exhibition, herself an interesting artist with new modern concepts. The artist, Ahu Akkan from Ankara, has chosen a topic of today on the basis of an antique handicraft, to make aware that actually nothing has changed. She regards the women since long times ago - women that sat behind the curtains doing needle work, embroidery - as the true and most realistic chroniclers, silently recording the stories of their lives, the legends of the past, however only on the inside of the curtains and not to be seen by society.

See through curtains, you can still see what is going on outside but you are hidden with your secrets, it only faces you, your problems of frustration, exhaustion and violence,  that still occurs to women today. A project Ahu Akkan has superbly translated into art works of unusual design. She has “painted” portraits of women, her portrait among them, on see through curtains, 2 m high and up to 4 m wide, Applique work, most realistic with all the ups and downs of a face, the landscape of a face. It makes a great impact on the viewer.

Ahu Akkan was born in Ankara in 1980 and works at the Usak University, Faculty of Fine Arts Department. She graduated with a Master Degree from the Hacettepe University in 2003.

The art exhibition is still open until Decvember 02. If the door to the ArtRooms is not open, go and ask anyone at the restaurant.