Huo RF: Stories in Reverse
Pi Artworks Istanbul is pleased to present Huo Rf's second solo exhibition, Stories in Reverse curated by Nicole O'Rourke between 28 October - 25 November 2017 at our new space in Karakoy.
Huo Rf examines the impact of social and cultural norms on identity, questioning how we choose to define ourselves, how we get put into constructed categories and how we create our own narratives. His work navigates the boundaries between these different notions of the Self and seeks to articulate the problematic discords between them. Just as definitions of Self are constantly being redefined, Huo Rf finds himself extending the limits of his work and exploring new frontiers as he interacts with and is interacted with on a daily basis.
Stories in Reverse presents the Homotopia Series, collages that Huo Rf has been working on for over two years. Each paradoxically gains an identity by being surrounded by unidentifiable materials-polaroids of nude men, fabrics and objects that show no trace of who they are or where they came from. The compositions contains a gateway into the artist's own past but also makes it possible for the viewer to construct a new story, inviting them to find a piece of their own essence and life experience, prejudices and contradictions-- their personal sense of Self in the works.
The exhibition will be accompanied by an artist book under the same title that looks at the process for this body of work as well as work that has been made as part of the Signs of Time collective of which Huo Rf co-founded. The publication was designed by Girls on Their Way Home and includes texts by curators Nicole O'Rourke, Merve Elveren, and artists Gülsün Karamustafa and Hera Büyüktaşçıyan.
Huo Rf (b.1988), is an Istanbul-based Turkish artist. He is one of the co-founders of the Istanbul-based artist collective called Signs of Time. Exhibitions include; The Istanbul Off-site Project For Sharjah Biennial 13, BAHAR (Spring) with Signs of Time, Istanbul (2017); Replaced, Rampa, Istanbul (2016); Cross The Earth, Her Head Is On The Balcony, with Signs Of Time, Pi Artworks, Istanbul (2016); October, CONTRA Art Fair, London (2014), International Print Triennale Society, Jagiellonian Library, Lettra, Krakow, Oldenburg, Wieden (2009); and Prints for Peace-Grabados por la Paz, Mexico City (2009).
Nicole O'Rourke is the Director of and Istanbul-based curator for Ballon Rouge Collective. She is a writer and curator. Most recently she worked as Associate at Rampa, Istanbul and has been working in the art world since 2008. She has curated exhibitions in both New York and Istanbul, and has been published in Art Review, Art Review Asia, Frieze, Time Out, Hyperallergic, Near East Magazine, Istanbul Art News, Dazed and Confused, Exhibist, The Guide Istanbul, Artspace,, Twin Magazine, and Protocollum, among others. She is an MA Candidate in Art History from Hunter College, NY.
