TUNCA

Born in İzmir in 1982, Tunca graduated from the Department of Painting at the Faculty of Fine Arts, Mimar Sinan University. Since the early 2000s, he has been working across diverse media, including paper, canvas, sculpture, installation, video, and performance. His artistic practice is shaped around historical memory, cultural identity, and political phenomena.

In his work, he explores the layers of memory along a continuum ranging from official histories to personal narratives; moving beyond documentary narration, he questions the concept of witnessing within his artistic practice. While employing various techniques, at the core of his production are large-scale photorealistic drawings on paper executed in charcoal.

His works are included in the permanent collection of Istanbul Modern, as well as in the collections of art institutions such as Proje 4L Elgiz Contemporary Art Museum, Evliyagil Museum, Baksı Museum, and Odunpazarı Modern Art Museum.

Selected exhibitions include “Table Manners: A Feast of Visual Arts, Theater and Culinary” (The Genia Schreiber Art Gallery, Tel Aviv, 2018), “Water Was Here Before” (Corridor Project Space, Amsterdam, 2017), “All the Light We Cannot See” (Galerist, Istanbul, 2017), “Because We Are Here Where We Are Not” (Sabancı University Kasa Gallery, Istanbul, 2016), “So Close from Far” (santralistanbul, Istanbul, 2015), “4th International Çanakkale Biennial” (Çanakkale, 2014), “Kalıntı / Residue” (Pi Artworks, Istanbul, 2012), “Little Boy” (Sanatorium, Istanbul, 2010), “Abuse” (Sanatorium, Istanbul, 2011), “Ham Haller” (Siemens Sanat, Istanbul, 2011), “Demirbaş” (Sanatorium, Istanbul, 2010), “For What?” (Sanatorium, Istanbul, 2010), and “Elgiz 10 Istanbul” (Proje 4L Elgiz Museum, Istanbul, 2011).

Among his projects, the short film İZ (2011) was screened at the Cannes Film Festival Short Film Corner, the 33rd Cinemed Montpellier, and the 9th Tangier Mediterranean Short Film Festivals. His short film ID (2008), for which he wrote the screenplay and served as art director, won the First Prize at the 6th Metro Group Short Film Competition and the Best Experimental Film Award at the 20th International Istanbul Short Film Festival. In 2009, he co-founded the Sanatorium Civil Art Initiative and participated in Euroshaper – 1st Artists’ Initiatives Meeting. His installation-performance Floating Slum (2005), realized on the shores of the Golden Horn, stands out among his early public space projects.

The artist was invited to the Cité Internationale des Arts residency program in Paris (2017) and Artport in Tel Aviv (2018).

Tunca currently lives and works in Istanbul and Ayvalık.