KUTLUG ATAMAN

22 June - 4 September 2005

Kutlug Ataman is a consummate storyteller. A film-maker and artist, he is fascinated with the ways in which people tell their own stories. Ataman’s films are portraits of individuals who live on the peripheries of society, defined by ghetto life, peculiar obsessions or transgressive sexualities. The stories are bound together by Ataman’s open style of filming which allows each person to speak freely and without interference. He says, “…only in actual speech can we witness this amazing rewriting of one’s history and reality. What else is there? Talking is the only meaningful activity we’re capable of.”

Ataman works both as an award-winning feature film-maker and visual artist. Commenting on the formal history of documentary film-making and the social conventions of self expression, Ataman’s artworks compliment his work in the world of feature film-making. Coinciding with this MCA exhibition, the Sydney Film Festival inaugurates Ataman’s latest feature film “Two Girls” in its 2005 season. The exhibition offers an opportunity to explore the full scope of his art, showing a number of pieces together for the first time including The 4 Seasons of Veronica Read and Stefan’s Room. It is the largest international survey of his art to date.

A special feature of this exhibition is Ataman’s new work Küba commissioned by Artangel, London and co-produced in partnership with the MCA and selected European/American venues. The result of three years’ work with residents of the Istanbul ghetto area, Küba is an ambitious 40 screen work that represents the many voices and lives that occupy this historic shanty-town on the margins of Turkish society.

ADMISSION: FREE

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