:mentalKLINIK’s latest performance, Awfully Marvellous, unfolds in Istanbul’s iconic historical patisserie, Markiz Patisserie, in collaboration with PİLEVNELİ. Blending chaos, humor, and conventional beauty standards, the performance challenges our consumption habits and the form-driven nature of our world. Once again, the duo invites us to reflect on culture, language, and the realities of contemporary life—urging us to reconsider how we engage with them.
This performative work invites the audience to take a seat at Markiz, where they are presented with an unusual offering—a cake that looks ruined, almost like leftover trash from a party, complete with cigarettes on top. Yet, despite its appearance, the cake is entirely edible, even the cigarettes, delivering the first surprise—or irony—of the experience.
As the performance unfolds, the sound installation by Orkun Şentürk sets the atmosphere, filling the space with ambient music. Suddenly, conversations emerge, and the audience finds themselves eavesdropping on gossip between two voices. Adding another layer of intrigue, the duo reveals that these seemingly spontaneous exchanges were actually generated by AI. The dialogue, both amusing and immersive, blends seamlessly with the patisserie setting, heightening the artwork’s sense of authenticity.
Overhearing gossip while eating a damaged cake reveals that this is more than just a culinary performance—it is an artistic experiment that challenges our aesthetic perceptions. Imperfection lies at its core, much like the title Awfully Marvellous. :mentalKLINIK masterfully plays with language and irony, as seen in their earlier works, where oxymorons and metaphors intertwine within a single concept. Once again, they blend wit and whimsy, using amusement as both an anchor and a lens through which they simultaneously celebrate and critique our world. Their ability to create a reality that mirrors our own—yet exists in a different, perhaps entirely imagined, time and space—sets their work apart.
In this project, :mentalKLINIK takes an unconventional approach, engaging not just with a dining table but with the unique intersection of past and future. Much like the Markiz—nostalgic on the outside yet bursting with contemporary energy within—the duo explores oxymorons not only through language but also within the space and the artwork’s very essence.
History, Culture, and Markiz
Markiz Patisserie is a unique meeting point that has left a significant mark on Istanbul’s cultural history, remembered for its exceptional elegance and flavor. First opened in 1838 as Lebon Patisserie, it entered a new era when Avadis Ohanyan Çakır purchased it in 1940. Inspired by the renowned Marquise de Sévigné chocolate company in Paris, Çakır renamed the patisserie to Marquise. With its famous Art Nouveau seasonal panels, Limoges porcelain, silver service sets, and meticulous rules, Markiz became a gathering place for the intellectuals and artists of the time. Orhan Kemal, Sait Faik, Peyami Safa, Orhan Veli, Mina Urgan, Salâh Birsel, Atilla İlhan, and Haldun Taner congregated in this vibrant artistic neighborhood. However, the city’s cultural fabric changed over time, affecting Markiz as well. Closed in 1980 and reopened in 2003, this iconic venue failed to recapture its former splendor and closed its doors again in 2016.
The duo states that they do not want to transform Markiz; instead, they are using the patisserie as it is while adding their ideas and perceptions to it. By doing so they create their irony not only with the language, also with the participation of the audience.
What happened in Markiz, which was once an important center of social life as a focal point of ideas, rumors, gossip, and cultural gatherings, enriched the lives of many people. Generations after its closure longed for this time they had not witnessed. İstiklal Street has changed, and Markiz is now an embodied symbol of this change, and now, with :mentalKLINIK, it takes another turn.
Awfully Marvellous is a performance rich in irony and oxymorons, offering an entertaining yet thought-provoking reflection on the realities of our culture.”
