SENA BAŞÖZ
FRICTION:
A Series of Videos on Alienation
2006-2011
The starting point for this series of works was the friction between the artist’s body and the immediate space she inhabited at the time. Experiencing a deep sense of alienation within the constraints of her working environment, she began creating her first videos within the confines of her office. Works like Swimming Across, Tower-Nest, and Nobody is Indispensable are performative videos that express her sense of being a fish out of water in a business plaza. These works challenge the constructed reality of the space and disrupt the expected patterns of behavior it imposes. Through them, she clung to her creature hood and the transformative, healing power of expression.
As her artistic practice evolved, the points of friction expanded to include themes of politics, history, religion, duty, gender roles, and social positioning—particularly in relation to space.
Nobody is Indispensable
2006
3’32” video
“Nobody is Indispensable.” How would you feel if you were to hear this sentence from someone you care about? Words aimed at making the other person feel worthless are widely used in business life and skewed power relations. While they are normalized in the business world where being authoritarian and masculine is considered a skill, these toxic expressions exert psychological pressure and engender emotional harassment. Nobody is Indispensable is the first work in the series titled Friction: A Series of Videos on Alienation, which consists of five videos that Sena Başöz produced when she decided to become an artist while she was a businessperson in an office building. Referencing the conflicts in the business world, this video humorously deals with internalized patriarchal rivalry (Text taken from Possibilities of Healing exhibition label as written by curators Didem Yazıcı and Burcu Çimen).
Tower-Nest
2007
3’37” video
Tower Nest brings together two contrasting concepts: the tower, the plaza, and the office, representing the outside world; and the home and the house, representing the inner world. As it documents the artist's personal experiences, this work presents itself as a kind of visual diary. It is about going to work from home every morning, working in the office until late, the office turning into a home, the home into an office, and the entanglement of work-life balance. As opposed to the pessimism depicted in the video Nobody Is Indispensable, which reflects the inherent sense of being dispensable and insignificant in corporate life, the diary format used in Tower Nest serves as a small but real element that comments on the huge system. The music of the video consists of the artist's improvisations on the xylophone. These repetitive rhythm emphasize the monotonous cycle of life (Text taken from Possibilities of Healing exhibition label as written by curators Didem Yazıcı and Burcu Çimen.)
The Flow
2007
1’18” video
The business plaza where the artist worked featured a security checkpoint at its entrance. The Flow documents a proposal for an alternative mode of communication with the security staff. In this work, the artist casts metal fish and places them in her purse for the security staff to notice. This act transgresses the code of behavior imposed by the space, evoking another realm altogether—the ocean.
Swimming Across I and II
2009
6’10 and 3’53”
2 performances for video
Think about situations that you want to overcome, no matter how impossible or difficult they may seem. Swimming Across I and II show a person who stubbornly continues to swim -triggered by a childlike imagination - knowing that swimming is impossible without water. The starting point of these videos is the friction between the artist's body and the places she lived in. They are shaped by the alienation that emerged in the artist's relationship with the place where she worked at that time. These two videos, which are the last works of the Friction series, are based on two performances each. The first video takes place in a room of an apart-hotel. The other one is shot in the artist's office where she worked at that time. In both videos, she swims in a professional swimsuit, cap, and goggles, showing that she takes her job seriously enough to make the audience doubt the absence of water. By challenging reality and emphasizing the importance of believing in yourself, this video-performance series disrupts the action patterns implied by the space (Text taken from Possibilities of Healing exhibition label as written by curators Didem Yazıcı and Burcu Çimen).
Wild Mammals of Turkey
2009
5’30” video
A Collaboration with Aykut Ince
Wild Mammals of Turkey assigns human names to wild animals, offering a political portrayal of Turkey through the nameless, borderless existence of its wildlife. The video interrogates "language" as a vessel for the human mind, explores "naming things" as an irreversible act of division and fragmentation, and reflects on the "stillness" necessary for such naming to take place.
Story of...
2010
15' three channel video installation
How do you live a life when your education is rooted in fantasy and mythology? This work explores the experience of living on the periphery, while fantasy and mythology are constructed in an imagined center.
Chromatophore
2014 @ Alpha Nova- Kulturwerkstatt & Galerie Futura Berlin
2013 @ Frischzelle Festival Cologne
2011 @ DEPO Istanbul
30’ live audio-visual performance in collaboration with Nora Krahl
Excerpt from 2011 performance vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/55204650
Chromatophore, a collaborative live performance with German artist Nora Krahl, explores themes of connection and disconnection in relation to the city. It creates a friction between the bodies of sea creatures and the streets of Istanbul, highlighting the tension between natural life and urban space.