Ümmühan Yörük: Nearness at a Distance

"Nearness at a Distance", the first solo exhibition of Ümmühan Yörük in Istanbul, is at Pi Artworks Tophane between the dates 1 March - 14 April 2012. The exhibition of Yörük's latest works is the visualisation of bonding that occurs between the people who have experienced similar circumstances.

In this very contemporary era, status of identity varies according to the states of existance which are in constant struggle with each other. Whether we like it or not we become desensitized to the densitiy of violent imageries that we come across directly or indirectly during daily practice. The further away that we are from the spaces which are collated with physical destruction the more secure we feel. However, most of the time, the inanimate people whose only crime is to happen to be there at that time for some reason, seem to us as decorative objects at these spaces, which turns into "doormats" that would treaded upon by some "dirty feet".

Ümmühan Yörük's work focuses on the variability caused by violence. Life sized polyester cut templates of human figures cover the surface of the area with the feeling of a holistic composition. In an era of intense violence, the artist describes her work as storage of physical destruction.

Ümmühan Yörük studies Painting at Hacettepe University Faculty of Fine Arts. She participated in the group exhibitions "Fasa Fiso" with Yaygara Contemporary Art Initiative at Cer Modern Ankara in 2010 and " Flesh Colored" at Ege University ACC in 2011. "Külahıma Masallar" was her first solo exhibition at METU Library Exhibition Hall (2011).