İpek Duben’s Children of Paradise II, III, IV (2000–2011) and Peggy’s Paradise (2000–2025) embody the artist’s playful, yet subtly incisive critique of consumerism and overconsumption. Across a diorama in relief, the cornucopia of objects illustrates the draw of consumption, highlighting the artist’s interest in challenging contemporary materialistic desires. First made in 2000, the work – which strategically resembles both a store display and a shrine – has only gained in relevance as informal labour, near-instant delivery and unrelenting waste cycles have continued to grow in scale and intensity.
ARTIST BIOGRAPHY
İpek Duben (b. 1941, Istanbul) lives and works in Istanbul. Her interdisciplinary practice – deeply informed by her education and formative years spent in the United States – spans painting, video, installation and artist’s books. Duben’s work addresses themes such as identity, gender, migration and cultural memory. Solo exhibitions include the retrospective The Skin, Body and I, SALT Beyoğlu, Istanbul (2021); Angels and Clowns, Pi Artworks, Istanbul (2020); THEY, Fabrica, Brighton (2017). Group exhibitions include Guilty, Guilty, Guilty!: Towards a Feminist Criminology, Kunstraum Kreuzberg, Berlin (2022); Social Work, Frieze London (2018); Poetry and Exile, The British Museum, London (2014).
EXHIBITED WORKS
İpek Duben (b. 1941)
Children of Paradise II, III, IV, 2000-2011
Steel, magnets, plastic dolls
22.6 × 43 × 14.2 cm each
Courtesy of the artist
İpek Duben (b. 1941)
Peggy’s Paradise, 2000–2025
Steel, magnets, plastic dolls
23.6 × 129.7 × 15.4 cm
Courtesy of the artist
