The Art of Un-belonging
Lecture by Deniz Sözen, organized by the Studio for Art and Education, Joonas Lahtinen and Elke Krasny
Deniz Sözen’s practice is concerned with decolonising the Eurocentric imaginary that has been shaped by dualisms, such as self and Other, mind and body, culture and nature, etc. which constitute the colonial legacy of modernity. Her practice moves across various media and art forms, including video, performance, ceramics, (sound) installation and interventions in the public space.
Departing from her mixed Turkish-and-Austrian heritage and hybrid subject position, the autobiographical and fictional narratives in her multi-disciplinary projects explore infinite and unforeseen possibilities for our entanglement with each other – including the Earth and non-human others, such as plants, objects and plant-based matter. Experimenting with multilingual storytelling and collaborative processes of writing, thinking, learning and art making, her research-based practice presents a multiplicity of viewpoints and voices that question dualistic thought and re-imagine the notion of belonging beyond the human.
Biography
Deniz Sözen (born 1981, Vienna) lives and works between Birmingham, London and Vienna. She studied at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna and at Goldsmiths, University of London, and is currently completing a practice-based PhD at the Centre for Research and Education in Arts and Media (CREAM), the University of Westminster, London. Her works have been shown in various contexts internationally. Recent exhibitions include ‘The Art of Un-belonging’ (solo) at London Gallery West (2018), ‘ResponseABILITY’ at < rotor > center for contemporary art in Graz (2018) and ‘Hyphen’ at Ambika P3 in London (upcoming, March 2019). Deniz has received numerous awards and residencies, including, ‘West Balkan Calling’, Public ROOM Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the MAK Schindler scholarship Los Angeles (2013/14), Cité des arts in Paris (2014), the CREAM research scholarship (2014-2017) and the Marianne.von.Willemer.Prize for digital media (2014). Her visual essay Trans Plantations will be published as part of Sharpening the Haze: Visual Essays on Imperial History and Memory by Ubiquity Press (forthcoming). Deniz's video installation 'Surya Namaz' which forms part of her practice-based research has been shortlisted for the 2019 BAFTSS (The British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies) Practice Awards, Best Practice Research Portfolio (Audio visual and installation). Deniz is currently an associate lecturer in Fine Art (Critical Discourses) at Central Saint Martins, UAL. http://www.denizsoezen.com/