DISTANCE TO TAKEOFF

Bilsart is hosting Başak Kaptan’s exhibition entitled “Distance to Takeoff” on March 7th – 20th.  The exhibition is titled after Başak Kaptan’s video work dated 2017.  

“Distance to Takeoff” was first seen at REM Art Space, included in Başak Kaptan’s solo exhibition “Arboretum” curated by Lewis Johnson on December 15th – January 15th.  The video, which will be showed for the second time at Bilsart with the corporation of Bilsart and REM Art Space, will be presented to the audiences with a talk that will take place with Başak Kaptan and Lewis Johnson on March 7th.

Kaptan, who has been working as an educator, artist and designer for many years in Mardin, has participated in various exhibitions, video screenings and short film festivals both local and international. The artist has recently been focusing on digital camera, drawing programs and CNC laser cutting techniques.

In Başak Kaptan’s video work “Distance to Takeoff”, exhibited at Bilsart, the splashing and splintering of pine cones in succession in front of a vague white wall is shown. In this video recorded with slow motion, through the breaking down and dropping cones that bounce back from the wall, the artist turns the battle games played by the children in-between the neighborhood into a memory. This memory-making is “a reaction against the threats that simply go beyond bodily harm” resulting from the conflicts in the Southeast since 2015.

About BAŞAK KAPTAN

1978, İzmir

Between years 1996-2003, Başak Kaptan completed her BA in Visual Arts and her MA in Graphic Design at Bilkent University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture. In 2003, after receiving German Academic Exchange Service Scholarship (DAAD), Kaptan worked on film, video and new media at Münster Art Academy. With the post-diploma scholarship, Kaptan continued her artistic work as an artist in residence at Lyon National Fine Arts School in 2004. She received her Ph.D. from Marmara University, Faculty of Communication in 2013. Kaptan participated in various local and international exhibitions, video screenings and short film festivals. These include; Backyard, REM Art Space (2017), Work= Being in the World, Videos from Borusan Contemporary Art Collection #4 Başak Kaptan, “Windshield Strategies”(2016), “Perfect Unhappiness”, Videoist(2014), 25th Ankara International Film Festival “40 videos from 40 years of video art from Turkey” (2013), Barcelona Loop Art Fair (2012), Nomadic Video Festival (2011), Video Patch Work: Cite the City Within You (2011), Archieve Fever, OPEN FLUX: Videofesta 10th International Media Festival (2011), Mind Models (2010), Video.it (2009), The Mystery of Enchanted Cars (2008).