Videos

Communing in a Crisis (2021) is a  collaborative video essay about the entanglement of fear and hope by Julia Lazarus and Şirin Fulya Erensoy.
Since the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a worldwide pandemic, many countries across the globe went into lock down with the intention of curbing the spread of the virus. This development worldwide led to waves of shock among many, who had difficulties comprehending the exact magnitude of the situation. This shock and uncertainty transformed into an array of emotions, as more and more news regarding the pandemic came from around the world. Fear was one of these emotions. Fear in this context translates as a personal feeling of oppressive anxiety, arising from the lack of knowledge and uncertainty of what the future holds. Our aim with this project is to paint a picture of the variety of attempts to turn the fear into hope by individuals and collectives during the days since the coronavirus became a global reality. The interviews were conducted between June 2020 to June 2021 with the friendly support of Kulturakademie Tarabya.

To watch the videos made for the project, please visit:

https://vimeo.com/communinginacrisis

Beelitz (2012): This is a video recording of my fellow colleagues working during their first week at the European Exchange Academy, an artist residence in Beelitz–Heilstätten, Germany. I wonder from workstation to workstation with. my camera, trying to figure out my place among my fellow artists. Music by: Baba Zula

Keşmekeş (2012): This video reflects upon the intensity of Istanbul. It is composed of 64 different images and events that I have recorded throughout the city of Istanbul during 2012. These moving images portray the diversity and the many faces of the city. The fact that they are all happening at once and at the same time confuses the audience watching the video, as they are not sure which images to focus on or what sound to pick out. This indeed is how day-to-day living in Istanbul feels like; utter confusion, loss and frustration.

Telephone Problems (2011): Kadiye hala is my grandfather’s sister. She has two children – Handan and Osman. Osman lives in Switzerland. This video was filmed in Şarköy, in Northwestern Turkey, where all my father’s side of the family spends their summer. On one of those afternoons, where all the women of the area meet under “the tree”, Kadriye hala shared a story with us that she just could not figure out….and neither could we….