Concrete, Weed and Others

December 2023 - November 2024
DÜZCE, SAKARYA

The project “Concrete, Weed and Others” is based on the defense structure named “Bunker,” seen in the Karasu district of Sakarya and made mainly of iron and concrete, which was built to protect its surroundings during wartime, particularly against tank and aircraft bombardment. The project aims to begin with man-made bunkers and embark on a journey toward animal-made bunkers (nests) created from materials such as mud, grass, ivy, feathers and paper in nature, thereby reversing the war-related perception of bunkers. With the intention of presenting a new memory and awareness, the project proposes to re-present the history taught in schools in an artistic language, and to reflect on possibilities of looking at history from a different perspective. As such, another pillar of the project is to reflect on the ties between man-made bunkers and animal-made bunkers and what these structures tell us today, and to witness the construction process while animals build their nests. At this point, the project will follow the footsteps of the question “…is the entire repertoire of emotions unique to us humans?” from Peter Wohlleben’s book “The Secret Life of Animals.” Aiming to track the relationships between history, nature and science through bunkers and animal nests built around them in the forests, the artist intends to present an interdisciplinary and research-based art project.

Zehra Seda Boztunalı

Zehra Seda Boztunalı (1988, Burdur) graduated from Süleyman Demirel University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Painting (2011). She completed her master’s degree at Akdeniz University, Institute of Fine Arts, Painting Department, Master's Degree Program (2014). She completed her doctor of art degree in the Art and Design Department of the same Institute in the Doctor of Art Program (2023). Based on the loss she suffered in her childhood, Boztunalı focuses on the concepts of memory, death, grief, cure and autobiography in multiple fields, including painting, drawing and site-specific placement. She opened two solo exhibitions, Arka Bahçemdekiler (2017) and Sinerji (2015). In 2022, she was given the "Young Art: 8^th Contemporary Art Project Contest Honorable Mention Award.” Her group exhibitions include Retrospect: Decommissioned Works (2023); Back of An Envelope (2022); Art Matters 5-Open Call Competition (2022); Light of Day: Rejects Reconsidered (2022); Lump it: An Online Open Call (2021); Turkish Pharmacists Association 60^th Year Painting Contest (2016); Nuri İyem Painting Award (2016); 35^th Turgut Pura Foundation Painting Contest (2016) and Young Art: 2^nd Contemporary Art Project Contest (2016). She works at her personal workshop in Düzce and is employed at the Painting Department of Düzce University, Faculty of Art, Design and Architecture.

Links:

https://www.instagram.com/zehrasedaboztunali_

This page is published on 8 December 2023.