Turkish artist Sukran Moral escapes to Italy after being threatened with death
Rome (Italy) – A performance about lesbianism caused attacks of intolerants
She knew that having sex with another woman on stage was going to bring problems in Turkey. But not stopped. During the performance the audience left the auditorium in Istanbul Art House within 20 minutes. As they left, was imperturbable Sukran Moral (48) simulating a lesbian relationship. The next day came threats in the form of emails and text messages. She withdrew the work. A week later, he fled to Rome Sukran Moral death threats.
Sukran Moral in a recent image
Amemus, the work that forced Sukran Moral to flee their country a month ago, is a metaphor for sex manipulation by the authorities, but no one in Istanbul understood. “Many people are not ready for new ideas,” she says. She confesses to fear. “I’ve always wanted to provoke, but this is the first time in 20 years in the profession that I have to escape through my work. I have fear, but mostly I leave the work unfinished.”
Provocation is the word she likes to define his work. In 1997, eight years after the fall of the USSR, many women came to Turkey from former Soviet republics into prostitution. They were named Natasha. Moral picked up this theme in the work that brought him international recognition: Boredello. Later she slept naked in a Turkish bath of men to burn Hamman. Since then presented in the best galleries in Germany, France, Italy and, more recently, it is in the Cultural Center Koldo Mitxelena of San Sebastián.
Her work, which includes photography, sculpture, video or performance, covering a wide range of topics, always focused on the marginalized. “I work to show people forgotten by society: gays, madmen, but especially women. I’m kind of fox in the scene” she explains. Her complaint is applicable to all countries, however, recognizes that it is in Turkey where his inspiration comes. Here the figures speak for themselves: 200 honor killings a year, a high rate of domestic violence-nearly 95% of women confessed to have been the victim of some form of violence, “almost one million child laborers …
Her energy brought her fame, but also the dubious honor of being part of the list of artists and intellectuals forced into exile in Turkey for his ideas, including the Nobel Ohran Pamuk. Those who remain are often jailed, others end up dead under mysterious circumstances. For now, Moral is fortunate to be able to take refuge in Italy, where he studied in 1994. But she promises to come back and raise more blisters. “I do not think that artists can afford to exile forever. I hope, for the sake of my country, which never becomes a place that people have to flee, never to return,” she concludes.
Instant of Amemus
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