Özlem Şimşek
1982, İstanbul
Artist/Academic
Özlem Şimşek is an artist, photographer and academic based in Istanbul. She holds a PHD in art and design from Istanbul Yıldız Technical University with the thesis statement “Role Play and Masquerade Practices: A Persona Performance”. Her works and research focus on memory and visual representation of identity, gender and multiple modernities. Şimşek earned her master degree in photography at Dokuz Eylül University with the thesis “Photography as a New Way of Expression in Contemporary Art After 1980 in Turkey”. She received scholarship from Swedish Institute and studied photography in Nordens Fotoskola/ Sweden in 2004. Her artwork has been included in several personal and group exhibitions Turkey and abroad, in galleries and museums including Malmö Museum, Pera Museum, Elgiz Museum and Istanbul Modern Museum. Şimşek published her book “On the Path to Modernity / Representations of Women in Late Ottoman Family Photographs (1890–1910)” in 2023. She is currently working as an Associate Professor in the Department of Visual Communication Design at the Faculty of Communication, Istanbul Topkapı University.
Education
2019 PHD in Art and Design- Istanbul Yıldız Technical University
2009 MA in Photography- Izmir Dokuz Eylül University
2005 BA in Journalism Istanbul Marmara University
Solo Exhibitions
2023 – Desire Has No Need for Seeing Eyes, Bilsart, Istanbul
2022 – Neriman Hanım / The Portrait of the Artist as a Performative Fiction, Curator: Ezgi Bakçay, Vision Art Platform, Istanbul
2018 – Atlas of Ideal Women, Tiny Office Art, Consulate General of Sweden, Istanbul
2013 – Dramatic Persona, Cda-Projects, Istanbul
2011 – Epic Seduction, Galeri Zilberman, Istanbul
2022 – Neriman Hanım / The Portrait of the Artist as a Performative Fiction, Curator: Ezgi Bakçay, Vision Art Platform, Istanbul
2018 – Atlas of Ideal Women, Tiny Office Art, Consulate General of Sweden, Istanbul
2013 – Dramatic Persona, Cda-Projects, Istanbul
2011 – Epic Seduction, Galeri Zilberman, Istanbul
Selected Group Exhibitions
2024 – Performance / Living Sculptures, İMÇ 5533, Istanbul (29 November)
2024 – Presentation-Performance / A Performative Inquiry into Identity and Subjectivity, Performistanbul, Istanbul (12 October)
2024 – PhotoLondon Art Fair, London, UK
2024 – Presentation-Performance / A Performative Inquiry into Identity and Subjectivity, Performistanbul, Istanbul (12 October)
2024 – PhotoLondon Art Fair, London, UK
2019- "Ben Her Zaman Öteki’nin Alanındayım: Agah Uğur Koleksiyonu’ndan Bir Seçki", Curator: Beral Madra, Müze Evliyagil, Ankara.x
2018- "Iron Earth Copper Sky: Photobooks From Turkey" Curator: Volkan Kızıltunç, Thessaloniki PhotoBiennale, Greece.
2017 “Look at me” Abject Gallery, Newcastle, England,
2016 'La Ventura', Curated by: Karoly Aliotti ve Nilüfer Şaşmazer, Ark Kültür, İstanbul,TR
2016- ‘Impact Videofest', Curated by Ebru Nalan Sülün, Adnan Saygun Culturel Center, İzmir, TR
2016 “Impenitent / Istanbul”, Concept: Neriman Polat, Arzu Yayıntaş, Ark Kultur, İstanbul Turkey
2016 'Life is Returning to Normal', Studyo Açık Collective Exhibition, İstanbul, Turkey
2015 “Bare, Naked, Nude, A Story of Modernization in Turkish Painting”, Curated by: Ahu Antmen, Pera Museum, İstanbul, Turkey
2015 “Don’t Let Me Upset You” Studyo Açık Artist Collective Exhibition, İstanbul, Turkey
2014 FotoFest 2014 Biennial,The Houston Club, Houston. U.S.A
2013 Close Quarters, The Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, Istanbul, TR
2012 “Second Eye /Women Photographers from Turkey”, Created by: Ahu Antmen and Laleper Aytek, Consulate General of Greece in Istanbul, TR
2012 “Museum Inside a Museum”, Curated by Fırat Arapoğlu, Elgiz Contemporary Art Museum, Istanbul, Turkey
2012 Figure Out: Turkish Contemporary Art, Artsawa, Dubai, UAE
2013 “Eyeballing” Curated by yaygara Art Collective, Çankaya Contemporary Art Gallery, Ankara
2010 “Weib`S Bild IV – Fokus Türkei”, Alte Feuerwache, Cologne, Germany
2009 Past is Over, Now Pay The Bill, Daire Sanat, Istanbul, Turkey
2008 Turkish Photography Today,Curated by A. Zlatopolskaia, FotoDepartament, St. Petersburg, Russia
2008 Ne Halin Varsa Gör (Knock Yourself Out), Play Studio, Istanbul, Turkey
2008 Narratives from the Private, Curated by Serdar Darendeliler, Malmö Museum, Sweden
2007 Young Talents in Turkish Photography, Geniş Açı, Çetin Emeç Art Galery, İzmir
Artist Book and Displays
Atlas of Idealized Women, (Dummy Book) 168 page, 20 ed., 2016
2016 Cosmos Arles Books, Arles, France
2016 Polycopies Photography Book Fair, Paris, France
2016 Istanbul Photobook Festival, Turkey
Conferences, Workshops
2021 “Photography, Representation And Performance: Different Symbolic Worlds Created With Women’s Images” Archiving in Turkey Today and Tomorrow- Women in the Archives” co-organized by the Women’s Library and Information Center Foundation and Beykoz University, Istanbul.
2019 “Theatre of Self and Women’s Photographs From Turkey”, Fast Forward How Do Women Work Conference, TATE Modern, Londra, İngiltere.
2018 “Posing in a Military Uniform as a Practice of Cross-dressing: 1930-1940s.”, Dicle Koğacıoğlu Article Symposium, Minerva Palas, İstanbul.
2018 “Rethinking the Ottoman Muslim Woman's Identity Through Photo Collections: 1890-1915”, Feminist Pedagogy: Museums, Memorials and Practices of Remembrance, Salt Galata-Minerva Palas, İstanbul.
2018 “Rise of Camera Culture and Identity Games”” SALT Galata, Istanbul
2016 “Photobook Workshop”, Yürütücü: RVB Books: Matthieu Charon Ve Remi Faucheux,
Mimar Sinan Üniversitesi Fotoğraf Araştırma ve Uygulama Merkezi (FUAM), Istanbul
Contact
Adress of the Studio: Kadıköy İSTANBUL
e-mail: ozlemsmsk@gmail.com
web: ozlemsimsek.com