* Christopher Simon, 2022
Never had I thought that I would paint on huge papers together with people I didn’t know. Attending Cigdem Y Mirol’s Bookperformance accidentally gave me this experience, which I will never forget.
I’m a mechanical engineer and teacher. That day, I came to Hošek Contemporary to see a digital exhibition organised my godson’s friend. The exhibition was not to my taste. I looked out to see what was happening next door. The second half of the boat was like a painting studio. First, there were two artists on stage painting, then more people got on stage and joined in the painting. I also stepped in. The music and the images of the projection were mysterious. There were voices in German, English and, as I learned later, Turkish and Ukrainian. It was some months after the war had broken between Russia and Ukraine. After a while I thought it could have been a kind of protest. The words written in Ukrainian letters were charming. The sound of Turkish language was smooth. Creating such a chaotic yet harmonious scene of sounds, colours and movements was intriguing. I felt as if I was part of a story that was both sad and happy. I believe this is the strength of performance art.
That day, I dived into languages and many prejudices in me were broken thanks to the other people and their expressions whose diversity I witnessed on the stage. German people, Ukrainian and Turkish people, and some Italian people were all creating art sync with each other. It took me some minutes to realise that most of these people were members of the general public. It is rare that the public takes on such challenges easily. In this performance people were together transforming the space with different layouts of the huge papers.
When the performance ended in the complete deconstruction of the place, everybody went on stage again to take a group photo. I saw the joy in people’s eyes as they all wanted to be part of that image. Me too. We were all part of this art and its deconstruction. This kind of deconstruction makes people come together, not separate.
The whole experience of this coincidental encounter with Bookperformance taught me that there are artists who can influence others with their artwork by making them a part of it. This is inspiring when I think of our age that is lost thanks to social media and egocentric expressions. I am pleased to write this note. This is another inspiration that emerged in me when I reached out to Çiğdem y Mirol to express my experience of her Bookperformance. I didn’t only create a piece of art on the stage, I also wrote a review for it. Thanks Çiğdem. You are encouraging the creativity in me!