Jeremie Magar (b. 1984, London)
Horse Glasses
After landing in Adana, I spent the first days wandering in the historical centre, amazed by the busy streets, swarming with pedestrians, businesses, street sellers, craftsmen, restaurants, etc. The contrast with my surrounding in London was so remarkable that I was glued to the camera.
Once this busy network passed, when reaching the bank of the Seyhan river, I discovered another space, with opposite features: wide roads, scarcely animated, with a form of stillness represented by people having naps under the trees. As I understand it, this geographic area plays a different role, it is a the place of symbolic display, religious piety, where collective values are re-presented, re-enacted to the community: the great mosque, the central Hilton hotel, a cultural centre (all built by the Sabancı family, one of the most important in the country), a giant national flag, several monuments and historic displays. And between them, I walk across bridges, tunnels, wide road, car parks, quiet parks, statues and stray dogs...
Intuitively drowned to this peculiar site, I wonder what is this place is, what is its agency? What methodology or artistic devices would set this site in motion, make it more visible? Carrying on previous works related to representation of women, I decided to create a female character to help me “telling” the site. She leaves the near central court of justice to head towards the central Hilton hotel, passing by in front of the Mosque and crossing the bridge over the Seyhan river. This nameless person reappears in different scenes, juxtaposed with images stolen from the city flow, historical figures, peculiar soundscapes and oral stories. Without a solid story line, the character never really materializes mirroring the strange presence imposed by the site.
