Betül Şefika

A work about the violence and illusions that are contained within and beyond language and abstraction.

The performance derives from the idea of creating a lexicon for absence by sharing an index of the ways in which this concept manifests itself, with several moments of poetry to set the scene. As the enumeration is vocalised, the audience is presented several props and performative acts designed to serve as illusions and are meant to disrupt their hold on reality, e.g.: the undoing of hairpieces, hidden erasers, hidden magnets, hidden blades, fake skin, etc. While the interaction with the audience unfolds, they are confronted not only with a request for cooperation but also veiled threats. 

Betül Sefika is visual artist whose practice is based on drawings and poetry that subsequently serve as blueprints for the creation of sculptures, bas-reliefs, installations, and performances. In short, her visual work revolves primarily around the materialization of charged absences. Her texts actively attempt to incorporate their medium and formal characteristics as part of the narrative. She has published in De Gids, DW B., performed at Perdu and for Slow Writing Lab, has been in the editorial board of rekto:verso and has showcased work at Het Bos, De Koer and C-Mine.

@broodfraude