PUBLIC ARTWORK
ÖZGÜR KAR: EXPOSED

In collaboration with the City of Oslo, UKS is proud to present a new public artwork by Amsterdam-based artist Özgür Kar (b. 1992, TR) at Europarådets plass in central Oslo. The unveiling of this new commission titled Exposed will take place on Friday, 6 September at 4pm.

Exposed is an extension of Kar’s grand solo exhibition, A New Start, presented at UKS April – June 2019, in which a series of black-and-white video animations were connected into one joint narrative. Across four human-sized panels, a single character’s different traits were played out, hummed, and discussed, exploring the range of “identities” of the figure—as a schizophrenic choir, calling out. Moving from the white cube at UKS in St. Olavs gate and into public space at Europarådets plass—one of Oslo’s most trafficked sites—Kar’s distinctive, vulnerable male character will be even further exposed.

Sqeezed into two 85-inch 4K screens positioned back to back and mounted in a metal frame in portrait format—like that of the tablet or smartphone screen—both the character’s naked front and back are visible to all. Observing him—should they look up from their own screens—passersby will hear him mumbling, whispering, expressing a stiffened fatigue caused by social media and the banal language found online.

The work is produced by UKS (Unge Kunstneres Samfund / Young Artists’ Society) with the kind support from Car Free City / City of Oslo.

*Photo: Reklameservice