Genco Gulan's "Copy" is on Exhibit in Istanbul.

Conceptual artist Genco Gulan's recent exhibition elaborates the evolution
of the term "copy" in relation with digital and bio technologies.

In the exhibition which opened at the Istanbul Apartment Project in November,
Gulan utilises genetic technology and digital imaging to create his "cloned" images.

In order to create the exhibition, Gulan got his "Hair Analysis" and than his "DNA Profiling"
from "The Institute of Forensic Sciences of Istanbul University". He than processed the image
digitally, enlarged them to a human size, printed them on canvas and then multiplied the his
chromosome barcode, three times which than became the focus of the installation.

In addition to the these large digital prints hanged on the wall, six square meters of human hair
covered the gallery floor. The hair, which collected from the neighborhood men's barbar shops
were almost all short and dark brown, reflecting the clustered sample of Turkish genetic profile
and of course the current hair fashion for men in Istanbul.

The exhibition is designed to be seen from outside through three identical windows and with the
help three identical mirrors which remind us of the ones in barbar shops but also replicate the
arcs of the windows. From outside, only through these mirrors one can see the human hair as
an organic sculpture and relate them with DNA barcode images that are again extracted from
human hair.

In his new line of work, Gulan not only tries to relate culture of everyday life with new
technologies but also he tries to relate both with art history. He argues that; "We learned the
meaning of copy in a modern context, which never carried positive meanings. In the
post-modern context the term lost its meaning. As we realise that the term is gaining new
meanings we can realise that we are approaching a new era."

Genco Gulan, "Copy", 2002.
Between 11, 11, 2002 till 12, 11, 2002.
Apartment Project, Seyhbender Sokak No: 4 Asmali Mescit, Istanbul, Turkey.
Info: [email protected]