Notes From Overground III
Ahmet Elhan
03.05 - 16.07.2023
Consisting of collages: Notes From Overground III; which is Ahmet Elhan's second solo exhibition held at Evin Art Gallery, utilizes this prevalent technique of the 20th century modern artists while criticizing the concepts of modernity. Elhan uses contradictory colors such as red and green in his striking compositions and amplifies the effects of his critical language that prevails throughout the exhibition.
"Focusing on the European culture of the first half of the 20th century, the artist gives an 'absurdist' presentation of the forms the concept of "holy" takes in modern capitalism. The artist aims at the function of the "holy" in his work and creates quite a complicated iconography. This function is to conceal the capital, political parties, the military, and the religious establishment as an ideological curtain hiding political reactionaries and their internal relations serving common interests."
Nusret Polat
Ahmet Elhan establishes the narrative of his Notes From Overground III series over two parts titled "The Holy Family" and "The Holy Alliance". In "The Holy Family" part, the artist calls for a critique of the concept of family, which has been questioned for centuries; starting with religious depictions to family photos of modern times. Elhan hides the faces of members of these families -who are sometimes from aristocratic and sometimes from bourgeois backgrounds- behind various objects; transforming the space they occupy, presenting his critique through his visual language. "The Holy Alliance" part is based upon the monarchic formations of the 19th century which have positioned themselves against fundamental rights such as freedom, human rights and secularity while discussing the political, military, and religious alliances of the period between the two world wars.
About Ahmet Elhan (1959)
Born in Izmir in 1959, Ahmet Elhan graduated from Marmara University Department of Graphic Design and Dokuz Eylül University Department of Cinema-TV. Elhan, who has many solo and group exhibitions in his life, opened his solo exhibitions titled “Diptychs IV” in 2019, "Notes From Overground III" in 2023 at Evin Art Gallery. The artist continues his practice at his studio in Istanbul.