Art On Istanbul meets its visitors with Eser Gündüz's solo exhibition titled "Microswitch" at Art On İstanbul | Piyalepaşa between April 29 and May 31.
If we think the play as the first activity that human beings “use to learn about life and nature ”*, we can say that toys are memento objects from childhood, leftovers of this early period activity, often removed from our daily lives as part of the rite of passage to adulthood, or, even if they are still around, they are often put aside and forgotten. When toys, which are essentially and ironically the products of the adults, are carried into adulthood, with “the play”, they become associated with undesirable situations such as the “inefficient” use of time, an obstacle to work and production, and immaturity according to the current socio-economic conditions of adult world. Yet, the play continues in the gaps it could find. As Foucault mentions in the example of the parental bed, the play, even if there is a “punishment” at the end, turns into a space of desire, a utopia realized for a limited time.
In this series, Eser Gündüz establishes a new playground with the toys he carries into adulthood, a playground that is both new and as persistent as his unending childhood. “To me, deciding to paint professionally as an architect and sharing this decision with my family and friends was uncovering the game that had been going on secretly in me despite my adult life. Many times I was rewarded for this decision which, in a sense, meant a rejection of adulthood, but like any adult who insists on not finishing the game, I was also punished, felt unsupported, had financial struggles and difficulties, and was even ostracized. I hope that the play will always continue for me here, on my canvases, in my paintings, with the help of pencils and all kinds of toys.
” **Johan Heizinga, Homo Ludens, Ayrıntı Yayınları, 2013.
