The work of an artist interested in the concepts of borders and diversities, approached by observing the progress of relations between different cultures and figures at the edges of the life of society.
The catalogue will be the first international publication to analyze the Turkish artist’s ‘Mesopotamian Dramaturgies’ project as a whole. The project revolves around the artist’s reflection on the problematic relations existing between East and West, modernization and tradition, globalization and the endurance of local cultures. The artist has chosen to work in one of Turkey’s most backward regions, in the southeast of the country, on the border with Iraq, the place where the cultures coming from Central Asia, Iran and Mesopotamia encounter those of the West. The catalogue will contain three critical essays: one written by the curator, Cristiana Perrella, which will analyze the Mesopotamian Dramaturgies project as a whole by examining individual works; one by a sociologist and historian who will analyze the social and historical themes tackled by Kutlug Ataman in his project; and an interview by Hans Ulrich Obrist who will look at the personality of the artist and how he fits into the international contemporary art scene.