The historical event of the third Turkish military coup in 1980 and its societal and cultural consequences—such as the widespread censorship of books—are addressed alongside aspects of Özlem Sulak’s personal life as a Turkish artist living in Western Europe. Paradoxical facets of European immigration law, such as the German “Fiktionsbescheinigung”—a provisional residence permit that left the artist in months of uncertainty about her future status—serve as a catalyst for Sulak to question the fictions of cultural identity and territorial borders that define contemporary Europe.

In the tresor space, Özlem Sulak presents for the first time the original version of her work without subtitles—a four-language video installation (Turkish, English, German, French) that explores the impossibility of translation, while at the same time revealing the great potential of linguistic diversity and multilingualism beyond the Babylonian confusion of tongues.

Özlem Sulak studied at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Marmara University in Istanbul, the University of the Arts Bremen, and the École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts de Lyon. She lives and works in Paris and Hanover. Her exhibitions include solo and group presentations at Kunstverein Hannover (2011), the Lyon Biennale (2011), and most recently the 4th International Sinop Biennial. She has participated in numerous international film festivals, including Toronto (2010), Locarno (2010), and Marseille (2011).

The exhibition in the tresor is a collaboration between KulturKontakt Austria and Bank Austria.

Catalogue Launch: October 19, 2012, 6:00 PM, in the presence of the artist

The catalogue is published by Verlag für moderne Kunst Nürnberg.