Hayv Kahraman
Red AntiBody, 2020
Oil and dried pigment on panel
127 x 127 cm
50 x 50 in
50 x 50 in
Copyright The Artist
Further images
In Red AntiBody (2020) the figure has four legs, she doesn’t have any feet, she doesn’t have any hands – Kahraman has created her version of an extraterrestrial figure. Within...
In Red AntiBody (2020) the figure has four legs, she doesn’t have any feet, she doesn’t have any hands – Kahraman has created her version of an extraterrestrial figure. Within this work Kahrman opens up the idea what it actually means to be human. This work was made early on in the pandemic whilst this constant fear of touch was all over the news and social media, which led Kahraman to remove the protagonist’s hands.
In her work some kind of tension can always be found, through contradictory decisions such as the removal of hands, the removal of touch. The protagonist is very present and is taking centre stage, creating a spectacle. Within this frame the figure is performing for the viewer. Oftentimes as a ‘brown’ woman in Europe or the United States, Kahraman feels as if she is performing some sort of category or identity that has been opposed onto her. This work questions that and puts it into light, and in a way mocks it as well.
In her work some kind of tension can always be found, through contradictory decisions such as the removal of hands, the removal of touch. The protagonist is very present and is taking centre stage, creating a spectacle. Within this frame the figure is performing for the viewer. Oftentimes as a ‘brown’ woman in Europe or the United States, Kahraman feels as if she is performing some sort of category or identity that has been opposed onto her. This work questions that and puts it into light, and in a way mocks it as well.