Selections from Contraband and An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar. An archive of global desires and perceived threats, presenting 1,075 images of items that were detained from entering the USA from abroad.
Galeri Manâ is pleased to announce “Selections from Contraband and An American Index of the Hidden and Unfamiliar” Taryn Simon’s first solo exhibition in Istanbul between the dates 17 May to 30 June 2012.
Taryn Simon is renowned internationally for her conceptual reach in photography that steps beyond simple categorizations such as documentary, conceptualism or portraiture. Considered to be one of the forerunners of a new language in photography, she has been exhibited at London’s Tate Modern and will be opening another solo exhibition at New York’s Museum of Modern Art this May.
Her previous work Contraband, is an archive of global desires and perceived threats, presenting 1,075 images of items that were detained or seized from entering the United States from abroad. Captured by Simon during five days at JFK International Airport, some of these items are rather familiar, such as knockoff handbags, drugs and Cuban cigars; while others are quite unexpected, such as various animal specimens, eggshells and dog treats.
A selection from An American Index of The Hidden and Unfamiliar, including the U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Contraband Room, which has given rise to the Contraband series, is also displayed at the exhibition. By capturing hidden and inaccessible spaces such as the CIA headquarters and a nuclear waste storage facility, Simon reveals unfamiliar and uncanny aspects of the present day American culture and confronts the divide between expert and public access.
Born in New York in 1975, Taryn Simon is one of the rising talents of the current international photography scene. Her work is included in prestigious collections such as MoMA, Whitney Museum, Getty Museum, Tate Modern and Centre Pompidou, and besides the 54th Venice Biennial and Gagosian Gallery, has been exhibited at museums such as Tate Modern, London and the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin.
*This exhibition is produced in association with Gagosian Gallery. Taryn Simon is represented by Gagosian Gallery.
Image: Exploding Warhead, Test Area C-80C, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, 2007.
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Artist talk and exhibition walk through with Taryn Simon, during her exhibition opening on Friday, May 18, at 18:30
Galeri Manâ
Kemankeş Mahallesi Ali Paşa Değirmeni Sokak, no 16–18 Beyoğlu 34425, İstanbul, Turkey
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