Halil Altindere: Angels of Hell

On view 1 – 30 September 2016

After his video Wonderland (2013) which became a hit in Turkey and abroad, Altındere produced Angels of Hell (2014), a video that depicts a form of hell where both angel and devil enjoy ambiguity. Famous stunt actors from 1970s Turkish cinema are starring in this video. Surprise factor appears with the lead actors: the 118 cm tall Mirac Bayramoglu, the female body building champion Isil Aktan and Goksel Kaya who resembles Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

In his article for the catalogue of the exhibition “Reality is Elsewhere” Murat Alat wrote that Angels of Hell is a parody of the mafia-like power relations in Turkey. The video, which is an amazing work in terms of technique, depicts an absurd mafia story. The two surreal characters in the video – a man who seems to be an identical replica of Atatürk, and a woman who has the physical strength to knock down any man – have once again returned to real life. Particularly the character who resembles a waxwork of Atatürk rather than the man himself, together with the massive Atatürk relief carved into a mountain in İzmir that appears in the beginning of the video, lay bare how the image of Atatürk has assumed a surreal, eternal value in Turkey.

Currently Halil Altındere is participating in the 9th Berlin Biennale (until 18 September) and from 14 September 2016 will have a solo show at the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein (n.b.k) („Space Refugee“). His new video "Köfte Airlines" will be presented in the framework of the festival "The Aesthetics of Resistance - Peter Weiss 100" at the Berlin HAU2 (from 14 September).

Since the mid 1990s, Halil Altındere (Turkish, b. 1971) has emerged as one of the most prominent contemporary artists in Turkey with a multifaceted practice that ranges from video, sculpture, photography, installation, and performance to collaborative editorial and curatorial projects. His works have been shown in well known international museums and institutions such as MoMA, New York, im Centre Pompidou, CA2M, Tanas Berlin, Pilot Gallery Istanbul, Maxxi, Mam, Istanbul Modern, MAK, ZKM, etc. He also took part in Documenta, Manifesta, Gwangju, Istanbul, Sao Paulo, Cetinje, Berlin, Kiew Biennials. His works are part of international public collections, such as MoMA, Sharjah Foundation, Kadist Foundation, Centre Pompidou, Vehbi Koc Foundation. He is the editor and publisher of “User’s Manual: 1975-2015 Contemporary Art in Turkey Volume 1 and Vol. 2,” “101 Artworks” and “Contemporary Turkish Art for Kids”.