Artist Statement
This work is part of a series of large canvases titled Domesticated Marionettes where the representation of the mundane life of an ordinary housewife is highlighted and the monotony of daily chores including that of sexual fulfillment is the focus.
These women assume a false sense of sovereignty and the delusion of being queens in their homes.
The figures in my work reside in a precarious state of terrifying contingency. Things are happening; will happen; have happened; things that will lacerate when spoken about and are considered taboo or too harsh to deal with let alone witness; nonetheless an aura of sublimity is cast upon the figures, enriching them with an ornate divinity achieved by simple yet meticulously calculated brush strokes.
This dichotomy or battle of the opposites encompasses the human condition as a whole and exposes our universal values together with our detestable errors. They are in short surreal documentations of truth.
2009
Excerpted from Provisions, Book 1, catalogue for the 9th Sharjah Biennial
This project was part of Sharjah Biennial 9
Artwork Images
Domesticated Marionettes
Hayv Kahraman
2008—2009
Oil on linen
130 x 215 cm
Installation view
Photo by Alfredo Rubio
Related
Sharjah Biennial 9: Provisions Book I
Published to accompany Sharjah Biennial 9, Provisions is an experimental catalogue approaching the space of the book as an art project.
Sharjah Biennial 9: Provisions Book II
The second book in the Provisions series looks at the experience of taking part in and attending a biennial.
Kahraman, Hayv
Hayv Kahraman uses the visual languages of the Italian Renaissance, and the figurative style of traditional Japanese and Islamic art in intricately detailed paintings of women as they carry out the rituals of daily or celebratory life.