AYŞE ERKMEN
Ayşe Erkmen (b. 1949, Istanbul, Turkey) lives and works between Istanbul and Berlin.
The artwork titled Lonesome George by Ayşe Erkmen is a small bronze sculpture displayed in a public park outside the Ibsen House/Skien Kunstforening. This 1:1 replica represents a Hawaiian tree snail (Achatinella apexfulva), specifically so, the famous specimen known as Lonesome George, which resided in a laboratory on Mānoa for more than fourteen years. Scientists fruitlessly sought a mate for “the world’s loneliest snail” during these years, and with Lonesome George’s death in January 2019, the species became extinct – a poignant example of global species loss.
This is not a situation unique for Hawaii, it is something that happens around the planet. Today, one million animal and plant species are at risk of extinction, with many amphibians, birds, and mammals already gone forever. Habitats are disappearing, imperiling essential pollinators like bees and butterflies crucial to our ecosystem. Conservation organizations and researchers have undertaken efforts to preserve and breed species through captive breeding programs. Some individuals are housed in managed facilities to prevent complete extinction, and potentially reintroduce them to their natural habitats in the future.
The bronze cone-shaped snail shell serves as a tribute and monument to a vanished species. It stands as a serene reminder of humanity’s neglect – not only towards other species on Earth but also towards the ecosystem that faces perpetual disruption due to our relentless consumption. Conversely, there is a fatalistic, deterministic viewpoint regarding the fate of our world, suggesting that life is akin to an illness – an infection or microorganism – on any celestial body. This perspective implies that the destructive path we are currently on is a consequence we have earned.
Among the international exhibitions Erkmen has participated in are the 2nd, 3rd and 13th Istanbul Biennial; the Turkish Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale; Manifesta 1, Shanghai, Berlin, Gwangju, Sharjah, Limerick, Scape, Ichihara, Aicihi biennials; and the Folkestone and Echigo-Tsumari triennials. Her recent shows include Beethoven Bewegt, Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna (2020); Whitish, Arter, Istanbul (2019); Kıpraşım Ripple, Dirimart, Istanbul (2017); A, SMAK, Ghent (2016); Une histoire, art, architecture et design, des années 80 à aujourd’hui, Centre Pompidou, Paris (2014); Ayşe Erkmen: Intervals, Barbican Center, London (2013). Erkmen participated in the Skulptur Projekte Münster 2017 with a project titled On Water and in the first edition of the Yorkshire Sculpture International 2019 with her project three of four.
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