Fikret Atay
Born in 1976 in Turkey
Lives and works in Paris, France          CV
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Fikret Atay primarily works with video, in which his narrative style and manner of filming is comparable to amateur films, something that gives a sense of authenticity and presence to the works. Atay investigates and lays bare the codes and structures that form the basis of a specific culture. He grew up in the Kurdish city of Batman in Turkey, in a politically charged region on the border to Iraq. The milieu in and around Batman and the living conditions for its citizens are important features.

In Lalo´s Story from 2004 we see a man who is telling a story in a traditional Kurdish style of narrating, featuring both singing and speaking. In order to highlight the traditional rules Atay changes them by letting a young man tell the story to an old man and letting him speak in English instead of in the original Kurdish.



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More info:
Galerie Chantal Crousel