‘Night Sirens’ ringing in Ankara exhibition

ANKARA

The “Night Sirens” project, which brings together writer Selim İleri and painter Ali Kotan, includes pictures and writings produced by the two artists after they were inspired by their conversations.

In the project, which lasted about three years, a selection of 85 pieces of artworks produced by the two artists is exhibited in CerModern in Ankara.

An installation consisting of brushes, palette and paints used by Kotan throughout the project welcomes the audience at the entrance to the hall. Canvases, books and papers in the exhibition reflect the synergy created by the night-long talks, memories and intellectual sharing of Turkey’s two famous artists of different disciplines.

Kotan, who does not give a name to his paintings in his personal exhibitions, uses the expressions in İleri’s books in the exhibition “Night Sirens.”

Speaking to the state-run Anadolu Agency, Kotan said that author Doğan Hızlan proposed the project three years ago and they decided to work on this project together with İleri.

Expressing that they had already known each other’s works, but they made long conversations for a personal acquaintance, Kotan stated that they spoke about everything from art to politics, from love to memories and from life to their families.

“We had friendly conversations, we had intellectual conversations. İleri is a paradise of memories. That process was exciting. The project is actually the sound of two worlds coming together,” he added.

Stating that he produced 330 works within the scope of the project and closed himself to his workshop in the last year, Kotan noted that he was working on notebooks, large canvases and papers.

Pointing out that over 50 papers in the exhibition are the examples of the combination of different emotions, Kotan said: “The core of our project is the following: I did not paint his writings, he did not write on my pictures. Ours is a total interaction.”

Emphasizing that the night is open to expectation, painful and silent, and it is an important image in his own works, Kotan said that he proposed İleri to name the project “Night Sirens.”

Pointing out that İleri is a versatile and important artist, Kotan said, “He has his own choices, his own life and a different world. I was happy in that world.”

Stating that both he and İleri have dark sides, Kotan said: “There are words in his books that lead to very heavy chaos. For 30 years, everybody says to me, ‘You are painting the picture of chaos and tension.’ We felt two loneliness and two anxieties. We thought that ‘the more we come together, the more we run, the more we run away, the more we miss it.’ I guess we succeeded it We were tired, but it was worth it.”

Kotan stated that the first exhibition was opened in the western province of İzmir within the scope of the project and that they have met with art lovers in Ankara since Feb. 8, adding that they planned to open the exhibition in Istanbul, too. He added that all the works in the project were collected in a book.

The exhibition will be on display at the CerModern Northern Hangar Gallery until March 15.