Hande Şekerciler, featuring works by ha:ar: Electric Mannerism

 

Opening on 13th January, 'Electric Mannerism' presents a dynamic start to the year by bringing together a series of sculptures, light boxes and NFTs to explore the theme of the human 'self' as well as the intersection between the plastic arts and new media technology. This exhibition will showcase Şekerciler's most multidisciplinary body of work to date.

 

Working between Istanbul and New York, Şekerciler and Yalkın established ha:ar with the desire to combine a classical approach to art with new technologies. In Electric Mannerism, the artist duo reinterpret the compositions of Mannerist paintings of the Late Renaissance (1520 - 1600) to offer a new view on the contemporary 'self'. The celestial bodies within enigmatic compositions, as seen in paintings by Leonardo Da Vinci and Michelangelo, for example, provide the template for the digitally crafted figures in the glowing lightboxes and NFT videos by ha:ar. Every element of their work is characterised by Mannerist dramatic bodily tension, yet contrastingly the figures are stripped of clothing, lack identifiable features and are intrinsically linked to new media technology. This so-called "purification" is an attempt to free the figures from gendered or societal labels, offering an important axis for self-reflection.