ARTIST’S APPROACH
Beginning with real elements or facts, Işıl Eğrikavuk’s process is rooted in story-telling. The stories she creates are absurd to the point that they challenge the viewer’s ability to believe in them. Working with an actor (or a professional), these stories are transformed into video or performances in which a character is faced with a challenge about his/her own representation. Blending the story with a non-fiction element, such as the actor’s biography, news stories, or historical events, the final work gives the viewer multiple perspectives and possibilities.
THE ARTWORK
Snapshot
Performance, 2007
Specia guest : TV host and journalist Herby Moreau
In the age of fake news, it has become extremely difficult to differentiate between what is true and fake, especially on social media outlets. In a growingly aggressive political climate all around the world, where politicians are using social media to respond to key social concerns and to address the masses, the roles of professional media outlets, journalists and citizens are also changing. As an artist and researcher, Işil Eğrikavuk is interested in methods of citizen resistance and activism using social media as a tool and finding new means of participatory critical thought. True or False is also the theme of the Art Souterrain Festival this year, which will take place between March 2 and 24, 2019 in Montreal, Canada. For her project Snapshot, the artist has surveyed stories from Canadian and Quebec news outlets between the years of 2015-2018 and specifically chosen about 100 news stories on the subject of “Quebecois Identity”. During the festival, she will invite the audience to produce fake news stories under these titles, which will be then presented in a professional news format by a Canadian TV presenter. By inviting the audience to produce their own fake news stories, the artist is searching for different ways of DIY citizenship, new forms of activism projects and citizen participation as forms of resistance.
Curator : Art Souterrain
