SIKINTI/Boredom

Boredom is Arman Ataman’s first solo exhibition composed of paintings and multimedia pieces. It took place in Joint Idea in Istanbul in October, 2017 and was curated by Naz Bescan.

CONFESSION: 

Just like any other exhibition text, I want to fill this one with theories and make it extremely boring. I want it to make it so boring that you’ll want to you clench your teeth, and pull your hair off. Maybe this boredom will be an excuse for you to connect with the people around you and lure you to break the ice between you and that  good looking person by the door. Nevertheless  boredom  is the root of all mischief.  I am in front of my laptop screen, bored to death, and thus looking for ways to escape my reality by trying to entertain you, the reader I will never meet, and of course myself. 

HOMAGE TO BOREDOM: 

Arman Ataman’s works take us through tiny windows to the cracks in quotidian landscapes of minds. Dreams leak from these cracks.  They  remind us of a surprise or a longing for the beach and piña coladas on a cold and boring day. Ataman collects the moments that break the routine. 

However we are not here to celebrate these moments but to celebrate the bold colors. Ataman’s use of oil on canvas for such minimal and graphical visuals honours the artistic application of these colors. It may take weeks or even months to complete one painting. Boredom is in the process.  Repetitive sounds go on for hours, creating the illusion of drifting bodies in the space.     

This cycle of life continues. 

Boredom continues. 

A  small dose of fun, 

and boredom is back.

CONSOLATION: 

Stuck in between the infinite reflections of my dreams and reality:

Boredom is inevitable. You are in this limbo alone, yet not the only one bored. 

CONCLUSION: 

Is the real boring? Or is boredom the sole way to reality? 

Boredom is boring, but it is at once as real.

Naz Beşcan

17 October 2017, London