Ilke Alkan video part of 'PATIENCE' installation 2018 by Ilke Alkan

Ilke Alkan video part of 'PATIENCE' installation 2018 by Ilke Alkan

https://vimeo.com/414121545

To open up what my installation ‘Patience’ is about, I can tell that I am an artist and Curator. I came up with ‘patience’, inspired by my grandma. The main idea that will be emphasised with the work is being patient for living and loving with her optimism despite all the misfortunate memories. To talk about the story behind ‘Patience’, I would start with the words that Melek Uygunturk is my grandmother who played an important role in my childhood. She raised me up while my parents were working, thus we had quiet a lot to share. Her son passed away as a pilot sat the age of 28 and shortly after her husband passed away. When I was with her I felt the pain she had, the grief she had. I watched her while she was knitting all the time. I was questioning why she was knitting all the time and her respond would be to have patience for living. Every time she started a new washcloth I would ask, who are you knitting this for? She would tell me, ‘I don’t know my dear, to anyone’. She gave these as gifts to maybe more than 200 people, including my friends from worldwide even if she did not know them. She only wishes good things for them and as a memory for the people to remember who knitted it. She aims to spread the idea that you can love and teach to love anyone if you are not afraid to share it. When she moved to another house I found these 100 washcloths in one of these old chest. Both she and I were surprised by the number since she forgot how much she had done over the years and where she put these 100. I wanted to see all of them in detail so I put them on floor and that moment was my inspiration for the whole installation. She has been living alone for almost 50 years and her loneliness and memories are what triggered her to knit them, and all my life is full of her, thus I wanted to share it with people. I called this installation ‘patience’ since it is symbolising her patience for all the things she lived and all the love she has in her heart existing no matter anything. Her patience to live and her patience to love with her optimism despite the misfortunate memories. Thus in my installation I place a hundred of washcloths knitted by my grandmother to spread her optimism and love all over the place and make a short moment for thinking her patience in life. The installation is not only consisting of the washcloths and her favourite sofa and the table but also it has the video taken as a documentary of her one day in her life.

Uploaded 2020-05-01T23:09:43.000Z Wakefield TV Installers