
OMM welcomes guests 7/24 to experience Ata Doğruel’s “Light Source” performance
Located in Eskişehir, Turkey, OMM – Odunpazarı Modern Museum is excited to offer a unique experience by opening its doors for 40 days / 960 hours to host Ata Doğruel’s solo performance entitled “Light Source”. Curated by Simge Burhanoğlu and realised in collaboration with Performistanbul, the performance tests the limits of museums and going beyond traditional exhibition methods, the artist lives in a pitch dark room throughout the performance and sees the light only when a visitor with a candle comes in.
Presented as a part of OMM’s current exhibition “Grief and Pleasure” from İdil Tabanca Collection, “Light Source” is the first performance of the ’40’ series, composed of different, continuous, 40-day performances to be undertaken by Ata Doğruel until the end of 2031, when the artist turns 40. The artist photographs each visitor who brings a candle and hangs them on the wall to document the experience. This allows the visitors to participate in the performance and engage with the performer as they are “the sight” of the artist with the candles they bring.
“Light Source” also offers a performative interpretation of people’s need for each other. In the 40-day period, within the liminal space of art and life, Dogruel will offer a window to observe social life; communication and connection as well as the physical, spiritual and mental boundaries and shifts involving the participants in a domain where the artist/audience distinction blur.
The longest non-stop performance hosted by a museum in Turkey, “Light Source” can be experienced at OMM 24/7 for 40 days / 960 hours, including nights and Mondays, until 17 December 2022.
OMM is a cross-cultural platform where modern and contemporary art from Turkey and abroad is exhibited with a universal perspective. Launched in September 2019, OMM is also a distinctive architectural landmark designed by Kengo Kuma and Associates (KKAA), the world-renowned architectural office. Founded by art collector and businessperson Erol Tabanca, OMM is the first of its kind in Eskisehir, a university city in north west Turkey. OMM continues to welcome its visitors with innovative exhibition programmes and events that are open to different disciplines and focused on intercultural communication. Since 2019, Flint Culture has served as OMM’s communications director, managing media relations, while also serving an audience engagement brief.
For further information, please visit omm.art and @ommxart
Image Credit: Ata Doğruel, “Light Source”, OMM 2022, photo by Gülbin Eriş
Image Credit: OMM, photo by Batuhan Keskiner