Number 4: Man Amongst Men

Man Amongst Men is an exhibition of photography, installation, video and sculpture by Ahmet Civelek.

Beyoğlu, March 7th - Ahmet Civelek crosses back over the Atlantic for the OG Gallery’s debut show. Civelek is a Turkish artist born and raised in NYC, possessing two identities, neither of which he fully claims. The artist’s new body of work Man Amongst Men reflects on failure, pride, and identity.

Civelek presents a man standing over a chasm: a gap lies between him and his culture’s traditions and values. These are values that dictate and codify manliness, manhood, success, pride. However, as Civelek confesses, he is “not Turkish enough in Turkey, and not American enough in America.” He feels he is “failing at both.” This is where the intricacy of the works come into play; the viewers witness an intimacy interwoven with struggle and ultimately failure. Civelek tries, tries, and tries again to assume the identity of a traditionally masculine, Turkish oil-wrestler - only to find that even donning the outfit itself is a challenge beyond expectations.

This critique closely follows the dynamics of gender as performance Beauvoir proclaimed “One is not born but becomes a woman,” and the same applies for men as well. Setting out to perform in the theatre of gender and masculinity, Civelek encounters an essential impasse: what he considers masculine, straightforward, and direct reveals itself  to be fluid, unexpected, and nuanced. Moments of encountering the “kıspet,” the traditional pants worn by oil-wrestlers, and the sequences in wearing it will be on their most naked display for the viewers. Civelek shows the difficult and meticulous nature of getting into the oil-wrestlers’ kıspet, similar to being a man by society’s standards and demands. 

In Man Amongst Men, Civelek’s photographs will be accompanied by two video installations, where viewers will experience scenes of oil wrestling in a vacuum, without the crowds and the spectacle. Documented in the competition itself, Civelek’s series of attempts will create a dialogue of effort; a connection between what is tried and what isn’t achieved.

The centrepieces of the show are the “Kıspet” statues, each capturing a unique moment of identity and expression, solidified in residue. In contrast to the often disregarded and discarded nature of the sport’s outfits which are second to the wrestler, Civelek instead puts the Kıspet under the spotlight. He celebrates not the participants, but these uninhabited relics. The objects in their abandoned states become the actors and surrogates of shame and failure. In their permanence, they are the byproduct and witnesses. 

As he fails to slip into the “Kıspet”s, he uniquely captures the slippage of words and meanings. The definition of masculinity, success, and strength all slip into contexts of failure, slick in oil and in shame.