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A Turkish sculptor who has spent years working as a nurse is using her earnings to pay for art about the words people never manage to say.
Nermin Ulker’s solo exhibition, "Four-Cornered Triangle: Monuments to Sentences Without a Place," opened this week at Black Light Gallery in Istanbul’s Karakoy district. It runs through Dec. 5.
Ulker, who still works as a nurse, said she sets aside her pay to cover the cost of making her sculptures. The show is her sixth solo exhibition.
"I save the money I earn in surgeries and put it aside to make my sculptures,” she said. "Every one of my exhibitions starts from somewhat personal stories."
Curated by Filiz Agdemir, the exhibition takes its title from "Dort Koseli Ucgen," the only novel by Turkish writer Salah Birsel, published in 1961. Its protagonist, described by those around him as an observer, meets hostility for saying aloud what he sees.
The show focuses on words that cannot be said, or that no one dares to say, and on the traces they leave behind. Its title also points to the limits of sculpture itself and to the artist’s effort to make the invisible visible.
Ulker said the book inspired her during a difficult period.
"I went through a heavy period of mourning this summer. During that time, I kept dwelling on the words I couldn’t say to the person I lost," she said. "My childhood was somewhat traumatic. Everyone in my age group had a childhood like that, so it’s not something unique to me. This exhibition grew out of that."
She said books, music and films often trigger memories that lead her to new works.
Ulker said she chose her materials partly for economic reasons. With her husband’s support, she tries to work on a low budget and with a minimal carbon footprint.
"The upside is that I’m more in control of the work, and I form a more emotional bond with the materials," she said. "All my work is subjective, but these latest pieces tell my personal stories even more."
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