Dilek Winchester

Dilek Winchester studied at Central Saint Martin’s College in London. Selected exhibitions include 206 Rooms of Silence: Etudes on Prinkipo Greek Orphanage, Galata Rum Okulu (2018); Aichi Triennale (2016); Century of Centuries, SALT Beyoğlu (2015); ‘A Solo Show’, National Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens (2013); HomeWorks 6, Ashkal Alwan (2013) and Selling Snails in the Muslim Neighbourhood, Westfalischer Kunstverein (2012). She lives and works in Istanbul.

Language, translation and questions about cultural identity are central to Dilek Winchester’s research. Winchester was born in Istanbul and works as an artist and educator, mainly with forms of writing in combination with audio recordings and archival material. Her work consists of drawings, photographs, videos and installations that combine personal anecdotes and quasi-objective statements into expressions of cultural polyphony.

The sentence ‘SANAT DİYE BİR ŞEY VAR’ said with a stutter is translated into the written form. At times of crises the innervoice is not stable. It is doubtful and affirming at the same time. Words turn into repetitions and raw sounds. Stuttering, yet determined to reach the full stop that marks the end of the sentence. Translation of the stuttered sentence into English is: ‘THERE’S THIS THING CALLED ART.