June 4 – July 4, 2022
The first solo international exhibition by artist Lal Batman from Istanbul, titled ENTR’ACTE: Between the Acts of Life, opened on June 4 at the Balkan cinema, produced by the Saša Marčeta Foundation.
The exhibition ENTR’ACTE: Between the Acts of Life brings together various works by Lal Batman, including paintings, a site-specific video piece, art installations, and the results of a year-long sociological research project conducted by the exhibition’s curator, Ebru Jetiskin. Situated within the historic setting of the Balkan cinema—built on the site of a former inn and notable for hosting significant events such as the first film screening—the exhibition blends the spirit of the space with a dramaturgical and cinematic presentation.
The exhibition explores the relationships of social interactions in the society of spectacle, which evolved through mediums such as opera and cinema, and examines contemporary issues of spectacle culture. This culture has, over time, transformed into kitsch and become an almost “natural occurrence” of modern urban life.
“The exhibition is the result of curator Ebru Jetiskin’s research and Lal Batman’s months-long residency in Belgrade. The freedom provided by Bioskop Balkan and the opportunity to accommodate a complex installation that includes video, large-scale formats, and dynamic interactions between the space and the artist’s works, which were created right here, represent not only an explosive exchange of creative energy from this young artist but also a glimpse into the potential that Bioskop Balkan can offer to artists during their creative process,” said Ksenija Samardžija, director of the Saša Marčeta Foundation, on the occasion of the exhibition.
“As a reflection of voices, faces, words, emotions, and dreams lost in the deep darkness behind the tightly drawn curtains of the past, ENTR’ACTE: Between the Acts of Life points to new possibilities and the joy of life’s acts. The video works, installations, and paintings aim to create a temporal space where visitors, even for just a moment, can take a performative pause and surrender to the light and colors breaking through the darkness, while also becoming aware of the fleeting joy of living,” wrote curator Ebru Jetiskin.
Lal Batman was born in 2001 in Bursa. After finishing high school for the arts, she began studying in the multidisciplinary arts program at Yeditepe University in 2019. She has participated in curatorial projects, workshops, symposiums, and panels in Europe, Asia, South America, and the Balkans, including Athens (4th International Athens Art Symposium, UNESCO, 2017), Varna (Boris Georgiev Gallery & Varna City Gallery, 2017), Shumen (Repeat All Short Movie Festival, 2017), Paris (Galerie Da Vinci Art), Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Museum, 2018), and Miami (Historic Art District, 2019). Batman continues to actively work on her projects and exhibitions in Turkey.
Ebru Jetiskin is a lecturer and independent curator based in Istanbul. She is an associate professor at Istanbul Technical University. Alongside her academic research, she has curated numerous exhibitions such as Cacophony (2013), Code Unknown (2014), Waves (2015), and Exposé (2022), and has worked on festivals including Dystopie Sound Art Festival in Berlin (2018) and a’21 amber Network Festival (2021). In 2020, as one of the founders of the conference FEMeeting: Women in Art, Science, and Technology, she was invited to participate in the Ars Electronica festival. Jetiskin also serves as vice president of the Turkish section of the International Association of Art Critics (AICA).
PHOTO GALLERY: Marina Bugarčić