Yekateryna Grygorenko
I was born in Mersin in 1996. In 2019, I graduated from the Painting Department of Dokuz Eylül University, Faculty of Fine Arts. I am currently completing my master's degree at the same university.
Being of Ukrainian origin and living in Turkey has given me two cultures and two identities; at the same time, by moving away from both cultures, it has led me to question my body and identity. Discourses such as how to be a woman, how to be a man, what is beautiful, what is ugly, what is right, what is wrong, or right for whom, wrong for whom, have been ringing in my ears since birth, as they have for all people.
These discourses, which do not carry the quality of true knowledge but are decisive, establish the symbolic order; that is, the order we are currently in. Nietzsche, in his book On the Genealogy of Morality, makes a statement that supports this situation: “Some forms of morality require a subject, and as a result of this necessity, they establish the subject.”
Nietzsche’s statement demonstrates how slippery the ground of identity is and clearly reveals the boundary between us and animals. The animal is taboo-free and naked. My productions also contain the emotions and feelings of the real world, rather than this slippery ground.
I advance my works with an admiration for the life of the taboo-free animal. I aim to present the aesthetics of the ugly, the wrong, and the repulsive to the audience, rather than taught beauty and truths. By rejecting the reality we are in, I embark on a quest for a new reality within the framework of beauty that is on the verge of exhaustion.
My perversions, desires, and instincts are reflected in my productions, moving away from reality; like an animal, I embrace art with all my nakedness. By focusing on the materiality of the body, I directly present states of death, birth, pain, lust, disgust, and desire to the viewer.
The practice of sewing and embroidery seen in most of my works touches upon the sanctity of woman, mother, birth, and reproduction. In each of my productions, I perform a public birth like an animal and create my own game within it.
Exhibitions
Mersin University, March 8 International Women's Day, “Self-Portrait” Group Exhibition — Mersin
Buca Municipality, “Black Appearances” Group Print Exhibition — İzmir
Good Design 3 “Together”, Shelter Artist Run Space, “Oxymoron – Original Copy” Workshop — İzmir
Mahalle Güzelbahçe, “Interdisciplinary Group Exhibition” — İzmir
A Room of One's Own, “Legacy” — İzmir
Mixer Art, “Mixer Sessions 4” — Istanbul
Darağaç, “Necessity” — İzmir
İzmir Culture Platform Initiative, Personal Interview — İzmir
BASE, “Now” — Istanbul
Gallery A, “Visible Enigma” — İzmir
Balconnection, “Silent Ceremony” — İzmir
Balconnection, Personal Talk and Discussion on “Silent Ceremony” — İzmir
Mixer Art, “Printed ’20” — Istanbul
Fünf Nach Löffel, Personal Play, “Bedtime for Us” — İzmir / Germany
Artsürem, Dokumapark Modern Art Gallery, “Outside of Time” — Antalya
Artsürem, Dokumapark Modern Art Gallery, Art and Society Symposium “Woman and Hope” — Antalya
Performance Research Laboratory PAL, Online Window Performance Workshop — İzmir
Karşı Sanat, “Approach Tunnel / Finding Healing in Istanbul” — Istanbul
