Fatma Bucak | Over a line, darkly

16 July – 13 September 2015
Artpace, San Antonio, Texas

Over a line, darkly is a new series of work by London and Istanbul-based artist Fatma Bucak. The series of video, sculptural, and photographic work is the result of the artist's explorations of the physical and human geography and the socio-political landscape of the US-Mexico border.

From the artist

Having grown up on a border as a member of the Kurdish minority in Turkey, I have often been drawn to the subject of geographical and political divides. Coming to Texas for the first time to be an artist-in-residence at Artpace, this interest became especially relevant because the border carries enormous historical and political weight, both here and in Central America. In some ways, of course, it recalls my personal identity, but the subject matter is universal—it’s not just a story about the U.S. and Mexico border. The divisiveness of borders is my story and it’s also the story of countless others—of lines drawn by one group to the detriment of others.

About Fatma Bucak

Born in Iskenderun, Turkey, Fatma Bucak works in performance, photography, and video on subjects centered in political identity, religious mythology, and landscape as history. Her works are often participatory and are rooted in the political environments in which she works. Her recent project I must say a word about fear (2014) brought together seven ordinary Egyptian people to produce a sound installation composed from the sounds participants made while exploring objects that they had chosen to embody their fears in an environment of serious political turmoil. In 2013, Bucak won the 13th Illy Present Future Prize, and had her solo at the Castello di Rivoli Museum the following year. She was artist-in-residence at Townhouse, Cairo in 2014 and went on to win the Academy Now London award as well as being a finalist for the Catlin Art Prize and Kino Der Kunst Project Award. Her work was featured in the 54th Venice Biennale, Tese di San Cristoforo in 2011. Bucak earned her BA from the Albertina Academy of Fine Art, Turin, and her MA in Photography at the Royal College of Art, London.

Technicians
Riley Robinson, Studio Director
Chad Dawkins, Studio Technician
The entire Artpace Team

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Originally commissioned and produced by Artpace San Antonio. Photos by Mark Menjivar.

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