Vase No.2

19l x 12w x 48h (in), hand polished uncoated stainless steel, 2019

Study for a vase

24l x 20w , screen printed on cotton paper, 2017

“Formed by two rolled steel plates, Vase No. 2 (lamb), reimagines the prepared carcasses displayed in the windows of Turkish butchers through an act of Calderesque abstraction. Altunbozar’s Vase No. 2 (lamb) retains a naturalistic scale and strips the coat from the abstracted animal, leaving only a raw metallic flesh. Where the two pieces of steel meet, a delicate rod supports a single flower, alluding to a local Turkish tradition of concealing the anus of a butchered animal—in some cases with herbs or flowers—justifying the gesture through a paradox of modesty. An earlier screenprint, study for a vase (2018), serves as a counterpoint, vividly rendering the vessel in question—the stark black of a flower winding through a subtly-textured anal cavity that has been isolated entirely from its bodily context. Informing one another, these works question the selective visibility of sexuality in contemporary culture, wherein queer bodies are objectified, yet physical intimacy is suppressed.”

- text by Duncan Bass,
Installation views from A Vessel A Veil, 2 person exhibition with Martha Poggioli at Space P11, curated by Duncan Bass

see exhibition pamphlet here.