Burak Delier
Strange Confidant, gilded framed illustrations (by Ali Yıldız), aluminium sheets, 2016. Photo: Rıdvan Bayrakoğlu
Strange Confidant, 2016
In the selection of the swindlers on the “wall of fame” titled Strange Confidant constituting the backdrop of the exhibition Free Society of Fools & Crooks (2016), two primary criteria were sought: 1) That the stories entail acting and performance, 2) That they are performed bottom up; that is to say the con is one where the person employs his or her own talents without relying on the privileged position afforded by an institution, company, the state or political party, which would be more along the lines of bribery or fraud. The performative quality of the exhibited works stem from the selection of this method; additionally, it could be said that the space set up for the exhibition was also “theatrical”/ performative.
The texts are written by the artist, the illustrations are by Ali Yıldız.