Escape from Plato's Cave // Escape from Plato's Cave

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Escape from Plato's Cave 03-24.05.2019 Opening: 03.05.2019, Friday 19:00 – 21:00 Originn

Supported by Space for Culture, Monitor welcomes Burak Delier and Avi Krispin in its first exhibition of 2019. The exhibition titled Escape from Plato's Cave, which focuses on the individual who is lost by becoming a part of the system operating as a whole in the capitalist production process, meets the audience at Originn on Friday, May 3rd.

“It is probably not a simple historical coincidence that the first meaning of the word 'person' was 'mask'. Rather, it is an acknowledgment of the fact that everyone always and everywhere plays a certain role, more or less aware. ... We get to know each other in these roles; we recognize ourselves in these roles.”*

Assuming that the existence of a single reflecting surface determines the course of movements, is it possible to talk about the possibility of a person who turns into a spectator of the signs coming out of his body to be left alone with himself? Is the self what we encounter when there is no eye to see, only one surface to reflect on, or is it a form of survival that we develop with the reflected versus the reflected?

In the video titled There Was a Time When Men Died for Honor, Israeli-born artist Avi Krispin, who works and lives in Amsterdam, stands in front of an abandoned warehouse with his vehicle, which he drives from late at night until sunrise, in order to be consistent with the role he will soon assume. We watch someone preparing. This get-together, which looks like a fight club, is therapeutic for those involved in the group. A group of men who fulfill the requirements of social roles shaped by social status and power, with the expression technique here, acquire their self, which they assume to be the essence, during the performance. The new member, who watches from afar the state of euphoria that the members of the group achieve as a result of their performance, is still standing behind the showcase.

In the video titled Songs of the Possessed by Burak Delier, who lives and works in Istanbul, we watch a scene from a training method used in the management of relations in the workplace. In the artist's work, who states that managing the relations in the workspace becomes more important than the production presented here, the white-collar employees, whose reactions change instantly, implement the best strategy they have developed for themselves, unaware that they serve the ultimate purpose. Although the characters of the employees are sometimes hostile to each other, an agreement can be reached on issues that will benefit both sides. Erving Goffman refers to this as a type of collusion in out-of-character communication.**

Assuming that what holds a group together and directs its movements is the real target behind the ideology***, can a person maintain his individuality when he joins any group? Escape from Plato's Cave, which calls for us to get rid of the domination of social expectations and go beyond the limited freedom area and question the possibility of the performance ending, can be visited at Originn until May 24.

*** Escape from Plato's Cave 03-24.05.2019 Opening: 03.05.2019, Friday 7:00 pm – 9:00 pm Originn

Monitor, supported by Spaces of Culture, hosts Burak Delier and Avi Krispin in the first exhibition of 2019, titled Escape from Plato's Cave. The exhibition focuses on the person disappearing in the capitalist model of production as s/he becomes a piece of the system that runs smoothly as a whole. The exhibition will be opening for audience's visit on 3rd of May at Originn.

“The fact that 'mask' is the initial meaning of the word “person”, cannot be an ordinary historical coincidence. Rather, it refers to the acceptance of the fact that everybody plays a certain role more or less consciously anytime, anywhere… We recognize each other in these roles; we recognize ourselves in these roles.”*

Assuming that the presence of a single reflective surface determines the course of movement, is it a possibility that the person who turns into the audience of indications of her/his body can be alone with herself/himself? What is individualism? Is it what we face when there is no eye to see or no surface to reflect or is it a way of survival that we develop against the reflection together with the reflection itself?

Avi Krispin, born in Israel, works and resides in Amsterdam. In her video There Was a Time When Men Died for Honor, we watch someone driving from late at night until sunrise, stopping in front of a warehouse and preparing himself for being consistent with the role he will soon be playing. This gathering like in a fight club is a kind of therapy for group members. A group of men, who fulfill the requirements of their social roles shaped by social status and power with an expressive technique here, are in possession of themselves during the performance. The new member watches from a distance the euphoric state of the group members as a result of the performance, and yet remains behind the scene.

Burak Delier lives and works in Istanbul. In his video Songs of the Possessed, we see a scene from a training used in management of relations in an office. The artist's work remarks that management of relations in a working area becomes more important than the production itself. The white collar workers, whose reactions change instantly, implement the best strategy they developed for themselves without being aware that they serve the ultimate aim. Although the characters that the workers play may sometimes show hostile attitude towards each other, there can be an agreement on matters of mutual interest. Erving Goffman defines this state as a type of simulation in communication excluding characters.**

Assuming that what holds a group together and directs their actions is the real aim hidden behind the ideology***, can a person retain his individual state when s/he joins a group? Escape from Plato's Cave makes a call to free ourselves from the domination of social expectations and get outside the restricted area of freedom, and question the possibility of doing away with performance. Escape from Plato's Cave can be visited at Origin until 24 May.

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*Robert Ezra Park, Race and Culture, Glencoe, Illinois: The Free Press, 1950, p. 249 (Cited by: Goffman E., Presentation of Self in Daily Life, (B. Cezar Trans.), 2004, Metis, p. 31) **Erving Goffman, Presentation of Self in Daily Life, (B. Cezar Trans.), 2004, Metis , NS. 185) ***Siegfried Kracauer, Mass Ornament, (O. Kılıç Trans.), Metis Yay. 2011, p. 135