Erkan Özgen
By Mariana Hristova
Purple Muslin
The work of Erkan Özgen, a Kurdish visual artist living and working in the Turkish region of Diyarbakır, comes into focus this month at Fundació Antoni Tàpies as part of its mission to highlight established contemporary artists from around the world.
At the core of the new exhibition, entitled Giving Voices, is Özgen’s video project Purple Muslin, which explores the impact of war on women fleeing conflict and the Islamic State and seeking asylum in Europe and Turkey. The work aims to open a discussion on individual stories and shared experiences of war, terror and displacement. Belgian curator Hilde Teerlinck wanted not only to showcase Özgen’s work but also to contextualize it within the current political panorama.
As such, the curator has also set up a side program, including a lecture and a panel with experts from various areas who will elaborate on the issues raised by Purple Muslin. (Opens on November 16th at 7pm.)