It's always nice to be surprised. Luckily, I found the Akbank Art Center and Brice Dellsperger's exhibit "Body Double" in Istanbul last week.
Curator Ali Akay is bringing some of the arguably better Western art into Istanbul. This Dellsperger exhibit is no exception. Amongst other things, bluring gender, paying attention to a cult film framework and some homage to Mr. Kuchar provide a wonderful intersection for this interesting work.
They are sculptural loops, videos. As with Kuchar, the camp and 'funny shit' is still present, but now Dellsperger invokes a new movement toward the history of film or placing himself in film or somehow telling Cindy Sherman that things are complex. Technically, they are scene-remakes of classic cult films like "Return of the Jedi" and "Blow Out." However, what makes this form of appropriation good is that Dellsperger replaces the actors with what he calls "Body Doubles." This motif is a somewhat androgynous version of the artist often on two or more screens interacting within the backdrops of said cult rubrics and inferring a break in the timecodes.
In the midst of a huge Biennial and a small art fair, to find an exhibit at Akbank of Dellsperger was a breath of fresh air. Thank you, Mr. Akay, Mr. Dellsperger.