Erdem Taşdelen | The Curtain Sweeps Down
Alumnus Erdem Taşdelen (2010) interprets a piece of controversial Turkish literature in this multidisciplinary exhibit.
Erdem Taşdelen’s first solo exhibition at VOX in Montreal explores the sociopolitical implications of the story behind Genç Kızlar, a work of literature published in Turkey in 1950. Released under the pseudonym Vincent Ewing, this Turkish-language novel was in fact written by 21-year-old Nihal Yeğinobalı, a young woman who had previously translated several books from English to Turkish but never authored one herself. After the publisher of her translations rejected her proposal to write her own novel—implying that writing is an activity better suited for men—Yeğinobalı decided to attribute her manuscript to a fictitious Anglo-American male, and claimed to have only translated it. Upon publication, this pseudotranslation aroused the interest of audiences with its erotically suggestive content, and quickly became a bestseller. It has since been reprinted numerous times, but it wasn’t until 2003 that it was finally published under Yeğinobalı’s name.
An assemblage of works in sound, photography, painting and text, Taşdelen’s project offers a semi-fictionalized narrative of these events to underscore the systematic ways in which certain voices are muted while others are permitted to enter into the mainstream. The exhibition seeks to stimulate dialogue on tactics that may result in effective resistance against censorship and discrimination, and considers self-concealment as a strategic tool to advance progressive politics in environments where open dissent may be too risky.
Canada Council for the Arts and SAHA provided support for the production of the new works by Erdem Taşdelen.