BURCU MUSLI: ESCAPE ROOM

June 8th - 28th 2024

Exhibiton opening: Saturday, June 8th, 20h

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Burcu Musli is one of the finalists of this year's Denes Award, which has been awarded to the best young Macedonian artists since 2002, and from this year one of the finalists of this award receives a one-month residency and opportunity to show their work through the exhibition in Prostor.

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As part of her one-month stay in Split, Burcu will present new works created especially for this exhibition, expanding her research on female identity, the perception of female sexuality and its understanding in patriarchal societies. Through the exhibition Escape Room, Burcu shows her interest in combining different media: digital photography, collage, video, installation and clothing design, telling stories about the role of women in society, especially those societies where one cannot express one's own character. Through the manipulation of images and constructed realities within the imagery, as well as within the exhibition space itself, the multitudes of female identity are being displayed.

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It is important to remember that patriarchy does not look the same everywhere. Although present in different ways in many societies, in some it is woven into all its pores and is part of the mentality. Burcu Musli’s origin comes from one such place, and although she did not grow up in it, she feels a responsibility and an immanent desire to speak about it. The central object of the exhibition, which reminds of a staged set, is a woman's dress with traditional oriental embroidery on one side, which the artist deconstructs in the form of spermatozoid-like pearl ornaments. It is a reference to a woman whose fate in the aforementioned society is one-way street, and whose role is predefined - marriage and childbearing. Drawing inspiration from her heritage and reflecting on it in a contemporary context, she communicates her thoughts and feelings through different expressions and media. Thus, in his works, she introduces oriental motifs, but also glitches, and combines them with the multitudes of female identity. She takes photographs of her female friends and colleagues, placing them in various imaginary roles. In addition to digital photos printed on soft, pliable material, other media also serve her in achieving the fluidity of compositions and feminine energy, those characteristics of a woman that are often suppressed and denied within oppressive systems. The dominant emotion that she intends to communicate through the relationship of darkness and dimmed red lighting is female rage. She plays with the perception of female sexuality - She is in a cage, but she also moves, dances, is free, naked. She is everything shown, but also more than that. Her character is multi-layered, she is one of many possible ones.

 

Burcu Musli (Skopje, 1997), graduated in painting from the Faculty of Fine Arts at the Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. With a diverse practice ranging from traditional painting to digital art, Burcu has so far presented her work in numerous solo and group exhibitions. With a focus on topics such as female sexuality, identity and the position of women in oppressive societies, she often incorporates elements of fashion design, dance and scenography into her works. She is one of the finalists of Denes award 2024, which has been awarded to the best young Macedonian artists since 2002.

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music: Luka Jankuloski; models: Marija Dukovska, Melani Risteska, Lina Damjan, Ava Huseini and Igbal Saidova