Tcs windows : Phantasm by Ali Beşikçi



This is probably one of my favourite spaces in Sydney, hands down. I pass it at least once a week because its on the way to my gym (I went by today). And it never ceases to surpass my expectations.


I would be hesitant to call the space a 'gallery' in the traditional sense because it has quite honestly evolved past that loaded title. I say this because it challenges the idea that art isn't able to be appreciated quickly. Some might completely disregard this opinion and truly believe that art is only able to be appreciated through consideration, time and patience. This perspective has merit! However, I'm not sure it has relevance. Personally I pride myself on my intuition and the decisions I'm able to make with my gut. But these gut feelings that we all have, I believe been conditioned by the rapidity with which we consume artful, beautifully produced images constantly on the internet. As a result the need for staring intently at an artwork in order to 'discover' it's meaning has been lost in the void filled with instagram and tik tok. (In writing about this need for 'discovery' it makes me feel kinda weird, it feels very colonial?) We are able to appreciate and love art whilst just walking by.

Without actually comparing this space directly to social media, I think it takes advantage of this slight shift in object viewing culture and becomes something interesting and different.

The exhibiting photographs on display at the moment almost reflect this sentiment themselves - the notion of fleeting images:
"memory is not particularly good.

A couple of years ago I received a couple of rolls of film in the mail that I had left at my photo lab some time ago. Everything was as I expected, except for one roll of medium format film. I had absolutely no memory of taking one of the photos on that roll while the rest was totally familiar. The more I looked at the photo, the more I got lost. I couldn’t understand where or when it was taken. It didn’t look like anything I’d shot before." - Ali Beşikçi

These photographs involve the temporality of memory in a practical and personal way. They simultaneously both show memory and the loss of it. The scramble to remember knowledge which escapes us is a frustration known by all. But the artist has managed to find a way to represent the struggle between remembering and forgetting in a phantasmagorical way. Evoking myth and magic with each image. It makes me feel appreciative of the moment and remember the magical result of forgetting - the bliss of nostalgia.

Instagrams:
@besikciali
@tcs_windows

Author: Finn McGrath @mcsleaz
Location: 82A Angel St, Newtown NSW 2042, Australia

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