Known for her site- and situation-specific, and context-sensitive work, both in Turkey and worldwide, Ayşe Erkmen’s commission Golden Horn in the Golden Horn is informed by the mysterious and dynamic form of The Golden Horn, the primary inlet of the Bosphorus in Istanbul.
Located in Akşemsettin Park between Balat Hospital and the ferry dock, Golden Horn in the Golden Horn resembles a floating island that glimmers like gold, reflecting The Golden Horn in the setting sun. Positioned at a certain distance from the shore, within the field of view of passing ships and the shipyard, the sculpture invites us to contemplate the roles of water, geography, production and the memory of urban spaces within our daily lives.
About Ayşe Erkmen
Ayşe Erkmen (lives and works between Berlin, Germany and Istanbul, Turkey) is a visual artist whose work intervenes with and transposes an existing structure/situation based on the social and physical environment from which they arise, often creating ambiguous spaces by intertwining life and art and slightly transposing or re-routing everyday spaces, objects, situations and relationships. Erkmen’s works have been exhibited in many international exhibitions including the 2nd, 3rd and 13th Istanbul Biennials; the Turkish Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennial; Münster Sculpture Project 1997 and 2017; Shanghai, Berlin, Kwangju, Sharjah and Christchurch Scape Biennials; Manifesta 1 and Folkestone and Echigo Tsumari, Ichihara and Setouchi Triennials.
Some of her recent solo and group exhibitions include Intervals, The Curve Barbican Centre, London, UK (2013); Wesenszug, Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin, Germany (2013); 4th International Çanakkale Biennial, Çanakkale, Turkey (2014); Une Histoire Art, Architecture, Design des Annes 1980 a nos Jours, Centre Pompidou, Paris, France (2014); Strange Pilgrims, Austin Contemporary, VAC, Austin, USA (2015); A | Ayşe Erkmen & Ann Veronica Jannsens, SMAK, Gent, Belgium (2015); Imaginary Audience Scale, Artspace, New Zealand (2015); Fingerspitzgefühl, Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin, Germany (2015); Uncertain States, Akademie der Künste, Berlin, Germany (2016); Art Projects at 8 Shrines and Temples, Saidaiji Temple, Nara, Japan (2016); Art and Alphabet, Hamburger Kunsthalle, Hamburg, Germany (2017); Displacements/Entortungen, Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig, Germany (2017); Whitish, Arter, Istanbul, Turkey (2019); Einz, Zwei, Drei, Kunsthalle Vogelman, Heillbron, Germany (2020) and Scrolling, Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin, Germany (2022).
Some of her selected permanent art projects in public spaces include Wattenfall, Berlin, Germany; Heinrich Platz, Berlin, Germany; Tünel Square, Istanbul, Turkey; Kemper Art Museum, Washington University, St Louis, USA; NRW Bank, Düsseldorf, Germany and Korrenmarkt, Ghent, Belgium.
