light armoured

"light armoured" (animation, 1 min, loop, 2006)

Ahmet Ögüt

YAMA

14-08/14-09-2006

August- September 2006
Screening time: when it gets dark


‘yama’ is pleased to announce its second screening – a work by Ahmet Ogut, titled “Light Armoured”, 2006.

“Light Armoured” is a short animation that shows a camouflaged Land Rover being hit by small stones thrown by an unknown source. It is obvious that this vehicle belongs to the army and yet the attack is pathetic, almost comical, as the stones bounce off its armour without causing damage, or miss altogether.

Played on a constant loop, the work presents a symbol of what is happening and what will, unfortunately keep on happening in the world. It is both an anti-war gesture, against all camouflaged and normalized tools, which harm humanity and world peace, as well as a comment on the futility of combat. Here the work acts as a temporary monument, set up to communicate with the wide and diverse audience of the city of Istanbul.

As war continues, so does “Light Armoured” every night for a period of one month. This gives the opportunity for the work’s audience to pause and concentrate on one particular piece of information, as opposed to the way we are exposed to the speed and bombardment of images supplied by the media. It also allows for rereading of the work every night in response to the day’s news and developments in this region.

Ogut’s work is full of vehicle transformations. He uses them to look at the naive and normalized ways that power is imposed on civic life. The primal use of a jeep is for off-road transportation, but here this becomes a secondary function after the attachment of ‘sophisticated material’ such as guns and armour. As with many other mediums and tools that loose their original use when applied in war, the jeep becomes an interface.

The fact that the jeep is not damaged at all by the stones thrown at it, can also be read as a representation of current power relations. No matter how much the lesser-powered force attacks the more highly advanced, there are already decisions in place and controlled media propaganda, in which we are merely an audience to a television war.

The duration of each curatorial series lasts for one year. This year Sylvia Kouvali presents “…as long as it’s dark…”; a selection of works that plays with the idea of the spectacle and at the same time communicates vital social issues.

"...as long as it's dark..." is kindly supported by the Marmara Pera Hotels.
Parallel projects have to look for external support in collaboration with the curator and the team.

Address:
Mesrutiyet Caddesi, Tepebasi 34430 Istanbul, TURKEY.

For more information:
www.yama.com.tr (coming soon)
yama.opening@earthlink.com