ArtReview sent a questionnaire to artists and curators exhibiting in and curating the various national pavilions of the 2024 Venice Biennale, the responses to which will be published daily in the leadup to and during the Venice Biennale, which runs from 20 April – 24 November.
Gülsün Karamustafa is representing Türkiye; the Pavilion is in the Sale d’Armi, Arsenale.
ArtReview What do you think of when you think of Venice?
Gülsün Karamustafa I immediately think about its history as an old harbour and its relation to the Byzantine and Ottoman Empires. I think of the first Venice-Byzantine War in 1296, the Venetian fleet storming the Bosphorus. I think of the consecutive wars throughout 1463–1718 between Venice and the Ottoman Empire, but I also wonder how they managed to successfully cooperate with each other for mutual benefit, facilitating an unbelievably rich trade between and beyond them.
AR What can you tell us about your exhibition plans for Venice?
GK I have to say that it’s taken quite some time to arrive to this point. Starting with ideas and my first sketches in September 2023, we continued with the production in 3 different parts of the world, one being in Istanbul and another in Venice. Our final connection was in China, as the specific material I chose for the part of the installation was only available there. Now that all components are under the same roof at La Biennale, I can take a deep breath.
AR Why is the Venice Biennale still important, if at all? And what is the importance of showing there? Is it about visibility, inclusion, acknowledgement?
GK The Venice Biennale is a global platform. Being the oldest of its kind and with its historical reputation, of course it naturally has a solemnity. Beyond being about visibility and inclusion or acknowledgement, it allows the artist a great challenge: to create.
AR When you make artworks do you have a specific audience in mind?
GK I never have a specific audience in mind before I start to create an artwork – I start with my own connotations from the point where I am dwelling. I start with the knowledge and making sure that I know it in its best. I simply start with what I have in my mind.
I always keep the anxiety of making my works come to life properly. Choosing the right medium to express myself is important for me and I am quite picky about it, as it will be the common denominator between myself and the audience.
AR Do you think there is such a thing as national art? Or is all art universal? Is there something that defines your nation’s artistic traditions? And what is misunderstood or forgotten about your nation’s art history?
GK This was the question that we faced during the 1970s and 80s, as all nations were more closed off, living a life with their own problems and anxieties. The end of the 80s, marked by the changing of regimes, the fall of the Berlin Wall, postcolonial discussions and debates around centre and periphery related to arts and artists gave way to a new understanding in art.
Nowadays, a new way of communication created through advanced technologies gives us the impression that it is not possible to go back to those questions again.
AR If someone were to visit your nation, what three things would you recommend they see or read in order to understand it better?
GK In my venue at Sale d’Armi, I attempt to physically and emotionally summon into existence the emptiness, the hollowness, the brokenness produced by the devastations turned ordinary by the order of the day. This phenomenon, whose pace becomes ever more impossible to keep up with, due to the unimaginable griefs that keep on striking, one after the next at relentless intervals, as well as empty values, identity struggles and brittle human relationships.
I would like my visitors first to relate and connect themselves to the various parts of the installation, and then I invite them to see the film that is running on a loop, depicting a world that has long become a battlefield, an endlessly shifting ground.
AR Which other artists have influenced or inspired you?
GK I am very curious to see the outcome of this year’s exhibition, under Adriano Pedrosa’s theme of Foreigners Everywhere. I am very sure that it will be extremely rich in context opening itself to new encounters. Each edition of the Venice Biennale is a surprise; in the last Biennale we came across incredible groups of women artists with whom we have not been acquainted with before, and with their works… we were stunned.
This show will also introduce me to many artists, drawing them from all over, many of whom will inspire me, taking me under their spell and stealing my heart.
AR What, other than your own work, are you looking forward to seeing while you are in Venice?
GK Since the 90s, with frequent visits and possibilities, one might assume that Venice would have become an ordinary place for me. However, this hasn’t happened. This year, in particular, the opportunity to make a part of the production in Murano and having more time to become familiar with the glassworkers was exciting. The feeling of solidarity, and perfection in production was remarkable. Also, having a small amount of time to revisit the exquisite church in Torcello, which I last saw in 1990, was the joy to my life. Venice never ceases to captivate.
The 60th Venice Biennale, 20 April – 24 November
