The new exhibition Göz Hizası (Eye Level) at Art On İstanbul’s Tepebaşı space presents a
selection of works by artists Mert Diner and Olcay Kuş.
Drawing inspiration from city walls, the two artists follow their own practices and thematic
concerns in different ways. The works brought together under the title Göz Hizası explore
the possibilities of convergence and divergence—mirroring the ways walls in cities bring
together or separate subjectivities. Walls in urban spaces function as a kind of collective
memory, with new layers added over time that cannot be considered independently of
previous ones. Chance, encounters, and playfulness play an important role in shaping this
accumulated memory. In metropolises, streets—and the walls that line them—change
frequently due to the speed and nature of urban life. Occasionally, these layers are covered
with gray paint by authorities, only for new forms to emerge again; this cycle continues,
expanding, contracting, transforming, and diversifying.
Mert Diner’s interest in walls stems from what he describes as their plastic value in the
relationship between covering and being covered, or concealing and being concealed.
Exploring the different possibilities on the surface forms the backbone of his practice. The
works in the exhibition, which seep from walls the artists have passed, imagined, or
retrieved from the subconscious, are later displayed as canvases on other walls, inviting
viewers to consider their potentialities.
Olcay Kuş, in contrast, sees the wall as a narrative space. She reflects on how certain walls,
existing in the delicate balance between wanting to see and not wanting to see, influence
her practice.
Within this conceptual framework, the exhibition brings together works created
independently by the two artists at different times, hosting the possibilities that emerge
from this encounter.
