Way (Solo show @ Istanbul Modern)

Way I like to be on the way; just because it frees you, takes you away from the routine of daily life, makes you reach facts that breaks prejudices, helps you in turning your subjective viewpoint into objectivity, serves as a tool of developing conscious response to global approaches dictated by hegemonic cultures, keeps you away from the local strives in vain… Being on the way is a process and I personally value the process more than the final product; in other words, I respect the means one uses more than the end. Way is equally (or more) important as opposed to the final destination. Things you experience on the way shape your life at the destination; so one should take the way seriously, be patient and not take it as a temporal realm. One of the things that disturbed me so far in my life, is the fact that mankind usually took advantage of his/her present stance, way of living, political opinion, groups that s/he belongs to as means of gaining post and dominance. I often saw that even the minorities, after they possess a certain power following a legitimate struggle, aimed for being the dominant majority instead of remaining contented, self-confident and independent. It was frustrating to see, read and witness that the only reason for people to demolish orders was to build their own. I observed that nearly all preferred to be dependent on a group in order to survive and glorify this group ignoring the connected negative aspects. I felt people generally did not have the courage of staying neutral to opposing sides and they instead chose one side in order to feel owned. I experienced that individuals who preferred to remain independent were taken as rebellious, bad tempered, bullheaded and the desire for independence was perceived as aggression to a particular group of people. I astoundedly monitored that people who were never able to take others as free minds, always pigeon-holed them in one group or another. Being on the way always liberates me from this weight, discomfort, pressure, categorization; it is the most efficient, thrilling, pleasant and dynamic way of feeling independent… Ways teach us how to find, or how to get rid of what we think we found. There is less chance of finding, or disposing if we are not on the way; the encounters that carry the potential of changing our lives always take place on the way. Plans before departure can alter according to what we find on the way, this is why the way takes its shape while you walk. In short, the way to find the way out is to get on the way… Way is the neutral zone in between two sides; I dream of a constant state of being on the way and resulting enlightenment…