Found performances #1
12/2020 Istanbul, TR
During my stay in Instabul, I discovered a “Sport on Ferry Project”, a series of exercises taking place regularly on board of public transportation ferries. This program “launched by Istanbul City Lines introduced ferry commuters to basic physical exercises they can do while traveling. Exercise instructors from Spor Istanbul, the sports department of the municipality, [were] accompany[ing] passengers on their morning trips, teaching them exercises they can do without leaving their seats.” (Daily Sabah)
In a spirit of Marcel Duchamp’s “readymades” or “found objects” I pronounced these largely unknown sporting activities “found performances”. I invited the audience to witness and participate in the performances.
The series is part of the “Traversing Istanbul Waters” research project undertaken as part of the AURA Istanbul programme.
Found performances #2
12/2020 Istanbul, TR
I was mimicking several everyday performances of passengers traveling by Istanbul public transportation ferries. I invited the audience for exact times on board of specific ferries to observe me enacting four activities, one at a time:
#1 Reading a book (ferry Üsküdar → Beşiktaş)
#2 Looking out of a window (ferry Beşiktaş → Kadıköy)
#3 Talking to a friend (ferry Kadıköy → Karaköy)
#4 Staring at the Bosphorus (ferry Karaköy → Üsküdar)
The first three were realized as planned. With the fourth, I was overwhelmed by the large mass of people on the board of the boat. What I intended to re-present was an epic pseudo-heroical posture of a tourist staring at the sea during the sunset. But there were so many other, “real tourists”, already doing the same and I gave up.
The series is part of the “Traversing Istanbul Waters” research project undertaken as part of the AURA Istanbul programme.