Damla Tokcan faro Contemporary photo-illustrator London April 2013 Contemporary Arab, Iranian & Turkish Art Sale
Dervishes vs. The Cowboy ed. 2/3 Archival print mounted on forez 35.25 x 47.25 2013 SELECTION
Delusion ed. 1/3 Archival print mounted to plexiglass 31.5 x 47.2 2012 $4,000 NEW WORK
NEW WORK The Cut ed. 1/3 Archival print mounted to plexiglass 15.7 x 23.6 each 2012 $3,600 Artist Statement on The Cut Damla s newest piece The Cut comes in the midst of her continuing battle with breast cancer. When purchased, the Gallery will donate a portion of its proceeds from The Cut to cancer research. I was a little girl when I first heard the tale of Rapunzel; a young, beautiful girl imprisoned in a tower by the wicked witch. At the end of the story, her long blonde hair aids the prince to rescue her. Ever since then, I ve wondered: Why in the hell does she need a prince to escape from the tower? At the end of the day, it is her hair that they use to escape. She could have easily used her hair to get down instead of carrying the prince up and down the tower all those days. I find Hair very interesting; it is such a strong signifier of many different issues in life. Social, political, and racial. Femininity, beauty, and health. Over the years, I consciously and unconsciously experimented on my hair: long, short, straight, curly, colourful, shaved and even covered. It is quite amazing how it makes you feel and how it affects society s attitude towards you. With The Cut series, I give Rapunzel the feeling of freedom: the freedom of cutting her hair, the freedom of making the decision of cutting her hair, freedom from the tower she is kept in, and freedom to decide to go off on her own, without the prince.
Mirror, Mirror ed. 1/3 Archival print mounted to plexiglass 31.5 x 47.2 2012 $4,000 NEW WORK
Home Alone #01 ed. 1/5 Archival print mounted to plexiglass 31.5 x 47.2 $3,000
Home Alone #02 ed. 1/5 Archival print mounted to plexiglass 31.5 x 47.2 $3,000
Home Alone #03 ed. 1/5 Archival print mounted to plexiglass 31.5 x 47.2 $3,000
Focus Series (Balcony) ed. 1/5 Archival print mounted to plexiglass 31.5 x 47.2 $4,500
Focus Series (Laundry) ed. 1/5 Archival print mounted to plexiglass 47.2 x 31.5 $4,500
Focus VI ed. 1/3 Archival print mounted to plexiglass 31.5 x 47.25 $4,500
Focus III ed. 1/5 Archival print mounted to plexiglass 31.5 x 47.2 $4,500
Grass is Greener... III ed. 2/3 17.5 x 47.2 $3,000
Mmm... Mushrooms ed. 1/3 Archival print mounted to plexiglass 23.25 x 31 $1,500
Hansel and Gretel Sweetener House ed. 1/1 MDF wood and sugar tablets 9.25 x 8.25 x 7 2011 $1,500
Hit the Road Jack ed. 2/3 23.25 x 31 $2,00
Little Red Riding Hood vs. The Wolf #02 ed. 1/3 Archival print mounted to plexiglass 25.6 x 39.4 $3,000
peek-a-boo series Peek-A-Boo #01 ed. 3/5 15.75 x 23.6 $1,100 Peek-A-Boo #02 ed. 3/5 15.75 x 23.6 $1,100 Peek-A-Boo #03 ed. 3/5 15.75 x 23.6 $1,100 Peek-A-Boo #04 ed. 3/5 15.75 x 23.6 $1,100
peek-a-boo series Peek-A-Boo #05 ed. 3/5 15.75 x 23.6 $1,100 Peek-A-Boo #06 ed. 3/5 15.75 x 23.6 $1,100 Peek-A-Boo #07 ed. 3/5 15.75 x 23.6 $1,100 Peek-A-Boo #08 ed. 3/5 15.75 x 23.6 $1,100
peek-a-boo series Peek-A-Boo #09 ed. 3/5 15.75 x 23.6 $1,100 Peek-A-Boo #10 ed. 3/5 15.75 x 23.6 $1,100 Peek-A-Boo #11 ed. 3/5 15.75 x 23.6 $1,100 Peek-A-Boo #12 ed. 3/5 15.75 x 23.6 $1,100
gatecrashers, series 1 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #01 10.6 x 7.5 2008 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #02 10.6 x 7.5 2008 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #03 10.6 x 7.5 2008 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #04 10.6 x 7.5 2008
gatecrashers, series 1 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #06 10.6 x 7.5 2008 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #07 10.6 x 7.5 2008 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #08 10.6 x 7.5 2008
gatecrashers, series 1 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #09 10.6 x 7.5 2008 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #10 10.6 x 7.5 2008 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #11 10.6 x 7.5 2008 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #12 10.6 x 7.5 2008
gatecrashers, series 1 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #14 10.6 x 7.5 2008 Gatecrashers, Series 1 #15 10.6 x 7.5 2008
gatecrashers, series 2 Top: Gatecrashers, Series 2 #06 10.6 x 7.1 Gatecrashers, Series 2 #01 10.6 x 7.1 Bottom: Gatecrashers, Series 2 #07 10.6 x 7.1 Gatecrashers, Series 2 #06 10.6 x 7.1
gatecrashers, series 2 Top: Gatecrashers, Series 2 #08 10.6 x 7.1 Gatecrashers, Series 2 #03 10.6 x 7.1 Bottom: Gatecrashers, Series 2 #09 10.6 x 7.1 Gatecrashers, Series 2 #04 10.6 x 7.1
gatecrashers, series 2 Top: Gatecrashers, Series 2 #18 10.6 x 7.1 Gatecrashers, Series 2 #17 10.6 x 7.1 Bottom: Gatecrashers, Series 2 #09 10.6 x 7.1
gatecrashers, series 2 Gatecrashers, Series 2 #10 10.6 x 7.1 Gatecrashers, Series 2 #06 10.6 x 7.1
About the Artist The combination of 2- and 3-dimensions, past and present, and conscious and subconscious helps me to interpret the similarities and differences between what is real and what is imaginary. Once I decide where to take my character - I will use nature, found objects, knick-knacks from rubbish bins, and my collection of miniature heroes and heroines to build the scene of my twisted tale.. Inspired by childhood fairytales, stories and myths, Damla Tokcan Faro s photographs come to life through an interaction of these tales and realities of daily life. She examines the significance of these stories to the adult world. These stories that are heard from a very young age are tales that mould a person morally, socially and emotionally. Each piece of the fable is complex, rife with double meanings, and can embody multiple interpretations. Manipulating fairy-tales and stories is what I do now with my photos and installations, Faro explains. My main concern is the female characters in these stories; the question is: why are they made to wait for a male figure to come along to save them? If I were Rapunzel, I would have cut my own hair and climbed down that tower. Cheeky, political, and imaginative, Faro s work calls the viewer to question contemporary notions of femininity, as well as the reasons why they continue to proliferate. Born in Ankara, Turkey, but growing up in the magical city of Istanbul, Damla was more apt to frolic throughout the urban landscape than stay indoors and play with dolls. Upon reading Lewis Carroll s classic story about the girl who fell down the rabbit hole, Alice in Wonderland, Damla became mesmerized by the chaotic and peculiar fantasy world created in Carroll s tale. I loved the element of total imagination, she states. Educated in Boston, Ankara, London, and Chicago, Damla s worldly view has influenced her photography through the play with perspective. In works from her Focus series, various landscapes are distorted so that only a finite space is actually in focus. The artist seeks to play with the viewer s eye, send it searching across the frame in order to find its divining point. Fernando Luis Alvarez, one of Damla s contemporaries and gallerist, says her work perpetuates a sardonic, fanciful story of how our eye manages to amaze and fool us. The imaginative photo illustrations playfully invite one to delve into the work, and take part in this vivid journey that easily relates to a Where s Waldo-like experience. Damla currenltly lives in the picturesque Notting Hill section of North London with her husband, David, 3-year-old son, Aksel, and cat, Kedi.
Born 1975 Ankara, Turkey. Lives and works in London, UK. Artist C.V. Education 2004 The School of the Art Institute of Chicago IL, USA MA in Arts Administration Photography classes 1997 Richmond, The American International University in London U.K. BA in Communications BA in Business Administration Other course work 2006 Chicago Photography Center IL, USA Photography Classes: Black & White Film, Digital Photography, Close-Up 2000 Yildiz Technical University Istanbul, Turkey Multimedia Design/Management Certificate Program Exhibitions November 2012 The Other Art Fair London, UK March 2012 Group Be(come) A Collector Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery CT, USA April 2011 Contemporary Turkish Art Sotheby s London, UK March 2011 Solo Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery CT, USA November Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair artsumer Gallery, Istanbul, TR
Artist C.V, continued September Artists Pick Artists artsumer Gallery, Istanbul, TR September Next Women Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery CT, USA August Accidental Show Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery CT, USA May 4 continents on Bedford Fernando Luis Alvarez Gallery CT, USA December Solo Wonderland with a Twist artsumer Gallery, Istanbul, TR November Second Encounter artsumer Gallery, Istanbul, TR October Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair artsumer Gallery, Istanbul, TR December 2007 Scope Miami Art Fair artsumer Gallery, Miami, FL, USA December 2007 Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair artsumer Gallery, Istanbul, TR November 2007 Solo artsumer Gallery, Istanbul, TR March 2007 Someone I know Bilkent University, Ankara, TR December 2006 Contemporary Istanbul Art Fair artsumer Gallery, Istanbul, TR March 2006 #510: If The Shoe Fits Betty Rymer Gallery, Chicago, IL, USA February 2006 WithIn Sight Chicago Photography Center Chicago, IL, USA
Artist C.V, continued Commercial Photo-Shoots and other projects April Photo Shoot Menus & Venues London, UK April Photo Shoot for Kerem Gorsev Abbey Road Studios London, UK February Photo Shoot for Kai Catering London, UK March 2008 Photo Shoot for Kai Catering London, UK May 2007 Photo Shoot for Kai Catering London, UK Organisational Experience March Associate Producer Daniel Eisenberg coordinating film shoot in Istanbul, TR 2004-2006 Project Coordinator Ellen Rothenberg Chicago basedartist Website design, promotional and printed materials for public art projects IL, USA 2004-2006 Instructor Chicago Photography Center IL, USA 2003-2004 Assistant to Chair, Department of Film, Video, New Media The School of the Art Institute of Chicago IL, USA 2003 Coordinator 8th International Istanbul Biennial Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts Istanbul, TR 2002-2004 Co-curator Social Seduction Betty Rymer Gallery IL, USA
CONTACT Fernando Luis Alvarez 203-360-0999 96 Bedford Street, Stamford, CT flalvarezgallery.com falvarez@flalvarezgallery.com Monday & Tuesday: by appointment Wednesday - Saturday: 2-7pm