Plan B 2011

Curator: At first glance, I am struck by its whimsical, almost playful quality. The vibrant colors juxtaposed against the aged brickwork create an immediate visual tension. Editor: This is Ayse Erkmen’s "Plan B," a site-specific mixed-media installation from 2011. Erkmen frequently works with existing architectural elements to create dialogue between the space and her interventions. Here, we see a network of brightly colored pipes traversing the room. Curator: The pipes are interesting, a riot of color zig-zagging throughout the installation; lines interacting within the space, drawing the eye upward and across. Is there significance to the colors used, perhaps a subtle coding? Editor: Absolutely. While the installation appears whimsical, Erkmen is actually addressing the social realities linked to material flows, consumption and the politics of water. The pipes aren’t just visually engaging lines, they’re components within a broader system highlighting how basic materials and production can transform environments, both architectural and political. Curator: Note how Erkmen also incorporates the room itself into the piece – the existing water stains and patinas are framed and recontextualized within the clean geometry of the lines. Editor: The work acts as a powerful intervention, reframing water scarcity issues via readily available plastic piping, typically employed for infrastructure rather than display. Each vibrant segment underscores accessibility and, potentially, infrastructural inequality. Erkmen transforms common elements into a statement piece about global water management. Curator: The geometric repetition inherent in the pipe structures sets up visual motifs for movement, mirroring how water literally transits from one place to another through line and form. This enhances conceptual harmony, using geometry to link thematic elements. Editor: Precisely, and it questions how art can participate in dialogues about real-world materials and urgent issues of social change, while exploring our dependence on natural elements in both practical and economic dimensions. Curator: A thought-provoking engagement of site, materials and context – quite impressive! Editor: Indeed, Erkmen's work challenges how we view infrastructural components in contemporary art, emphasizing accessible components of an efficient industrial process.