ON SHOW

A Brief History of My Last Three Years

23 NOVEMBER - 13 JANUARY 2024

Pilot Gallery is pleased to host “A Brief History of My Last Three Years”, a solo exhibition of Halil Altındere’s sculptures, videos, canvases and carpets produced in the last three years between November 23, 2023 and January 13, 2024. More than 20 works of the artist focusing on popular culture, tradition, future, the legitimacy of cross-border politics, the dehumanization of wars, art and money, and the power analysis of structures including art can be seen at Pilot Gallery until January 13.

In his exhibition focusing on the last 3 years, Altındere produces a series of works questions the concepts of politics, technology, militarism, crypto art, cultural- artistic institutions and public-private space. In the works of the artist, who establishes almost unfiltered connections between his life and art, the pandemic that shook the world as well as the new “father” role in his personal life can be seen through his works. While pandemic influenced his productions lead to rethinking life/art through “space” and “circulation of art”, and exploring new ways (short videos, bronze sculptures, carpets, etc.), also his new role as a “father” infiltrate his art. Such as Star Wars characters, skateboards and all kinds of animals. The artist’s interest in traditional arts in recent years, especially the art of “miniature” has resulted in the artist accepting artificial intelligence technology as a personal assistant and giving it an active role in the production process of his works. His one-minute videos infiltrate the “stream” of online platforms and diversifying the experience areas of art. The artist’s interest in the defensive/offensive weapons and their meanings, beyond of their job description, is also visible in a series of his works: Music is My Weapon (2021) implies that art is a more effective weapon than bullets, while Revolver Gun (2021) and Invisible Bullet (2021) are focusing on the impossible relationship of absolute power and its owner. The Turkish Military Drones Rug (2023), which is based on carpets produced by Afghan women -who have been living in the shadow of war since the late 1970s- who weave the weapons used in the war such as cannons, rifles, grenades. And Altındere, in his this work put Bayraktar TB2, Anka, Akıncı, Karayel and Aksungur drones and focuses on how today’s society normalizes weapons. Star Wars: Royal Hunt (2023), features Ottoman Sultan Suleiman on a hunt and Star Wars characters wearing uniforms decorated with Ottoman motifs. 21^st century’s artificial intelligence technology is combined with 16^th century’s miniature techniques to create a new “reality”. Altındere, who has been interested in crypto and crypto art since the pandemic, highlights two significant figures who created the crypto world in his two works titled Time (The Prince of Crypto) (2022) and Forbes (Crypto King) (2023). Using magazine covers featuring Vitalik Buterin, -who is the creator of the cryptocurrency ethereum- and CZ, -who is the founder of the cryptocurrency exchange company Binance- the artist reminds us that these two individuals are influential figures shaping the time.

Since mid-90’s, Altındere, has focused on resistance methods against the power and oppression in his video, sculpture, installation, photography, performances but also in his exhibitions and publications works through such matters sub-cultures, gender roles, pop culture, ordinary miracles of daily life and power struggles in art. The astronaut who took refuge in Turkey as a refugee, the trans-fish-girl or extraordinary security guards are among the subjects of the artist’s works that have resonated both in Turkey and around the world. In his works, Altındere approaches the “absurd” but genuine details that history has sprayed on the masses with a magnifying glass and continues to investigate the delicate balance between miracle and revolution, crisis and routine, dream and nightmare, by the help of “games”, “toys”, “monuments” “heroes”, all kinds of documents, symbolized figures and objects that are seen as “defective” “sinful” or “other” by society.

Halil Altındere’s works have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in many significant museums such a MoMA, Centre Pompidou, MAXXI, MAK Museum and CA2M in Madrid, as well as Les Abattoirs in Toulouse and his works got into the collections of most of these museums. Altındere has participated in exhibitions at Moderna Museet, Maat, ACC Gwangju, Secession, Mambo, Academy of Arts, CCBB Rio, Andrew Kreps Gallery, n.b.k. as well as prestigious exhibitions such as Documenta and Manifesta and important biennales such as Venice, Sao Paolo, Berlin, Istanbul, Sharjah and Gwangju.

Halil Altındere’s “A Brief History of My Last Three Years” exhibition can be seen at Pilot Gallery until January 13.