For (Y)Our Eyes Only | Hale Ekinci

For (Y)Our Eyes Only | Hale Ekinci

In Turkish, the words for “you” (sen) and “I” (ben) share common letters, and there are no gendered pronouns. Everything in the natural world is “o” in the third person, and you and I overlap intimately. This imprecise language, double-meaning words, and absurd sayings leave room for playful interpretation - misinterpretation of the world. How we mutually understand each other is contextualized by the cultures we belong to and the languages (both verbal and visual) we share. The works in For (Y)Our Eyes Only by Hale Ekinci are encoded textiles, circumventing power structures and creating a place of humor and beauty where the othered finds a place of connection. Ekinci yearns for the shared letters of ben, sen and, in that yearning, creates a new visual language where empowerment is  disrupting systems and establishing new ones; there is strength in an inside joke.

Ekinci spent her childhood and much of her young adult years in Turkey, the homeland that she brings in and out of focus throughout her works. Collaging together fiber techniques, found textiles, and images from family archives, her work explores phases of acculturation, immigrant identity, and ideas about gendered labor. The decorative fringes on many of her works are influenced by the Middle Eastern tradition of Oya (lace edging on a headdress) and its use of symbolic patterns that serve as a secret language between women to express personal sentiments that otherwise remain private out of necessity. Influenced by Islamic ornamentation, her art references a mixture of coded symbolism such as Oya and kilim rug symbols.  (More)

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Hale Ekinci is a multidisciplinary Turkish artist based in Chicago.  She received her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts & Media at Columbia College Chicago and is an Associate Professor and Chair of Art & Design at North Central College. Focusing on personal history, cultural identity, gender politics, and craft traditions, her works vary from videos to embroidery paintings embellished with vibrant colors, patterns, and autobiographical relics. She is currently the Engaged Artist-in-Residence at the Gayle Karch Cook Center for Public Arts and Humanities at Indiana University. She was recently a Spudnik Press Cooperative and Facebook Chicago Artist in Resident. Her work has been exhibited nationally at EXPO Chicago, One After 909, Woman Made Gallery, South Bend Museum of Art, Koehnline Museum of Art, St. Louis Artists’ Guild, and Queens College Art Center. Her videos have been screened internationally, including in New York City, Berlin, Warsaw, and Jerusalem. She has completed residencies at ACRE, Jiwar Barcelona, Momentum Worldwide Berlin, Elsewhere Museum, and Chicago Artist Coalition.


Editor's Note: This exhibition runs simultaneously with A Way Through by Erin Paradis


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