MELIKE KARA. SHALLOW LAKES

Melike Kara (b. 1985) creates spaces for remem­brance. Starting from her exam­i­na­tion of her family roots, her instal­la­tions raise ques­tions regarding iden­tity, migra­tion, and visi­bility. Taking as a basis her archive of photographs from various private sources, which has been growing contin­u­ously since 2014, the artist studies the visual culture of the Kurdish dias­pora. Kara has devel­oped a loca­tion-specific, exten­sive work for the Rotunda of the SCHIRN. In large-format works she combines photo­graphic mate­rial with paint­ings that refer to patterns from tradi­tional knotted or woven tapes­tries. Her artistic process uses bleach, and the asso­ci­ated process of abstrac­tion also creates an exam­i­na­tion of change and blank spaces within a specific cultural narra­tive. Sculp­tural elements recalling pavil­ions and pools refer to the archi­tec­ture of the Rotunda, which is acces­sible to the general public.