Nermin Er’s solo exhibition titled Close to Me, Stranger to Me – There Is Someone Wandering Inside Me is opening to audiences at Galeri Nev Istanbul. The exhibition, curated with stop-motion animations and handmade models, invites viewers to explore moments when a person becomes alienated from themselves through a poetic visual narrative.
The 10 videos prepared for the exhibition emphasize transformations and changes within repetition, created through stop-motion animation. The meticulously crafted handmade models used to create the spaces serve not only as physical settings but also as fundamental elements conveying the emotional and visual atmosphere of the narrative. The hand-crafted objects placed inside these spaces come to life through frame-by-frame processing of each movement, turning the models from mere backgrounds into living scenes where traces of time, rhythm, and a silent presence wander.
Memory and Imagination
In scenes without figures, materials and objects gain a distinct presence and create meaning through various movements. The viewer is placed in a ‘watching’ position within familiar or unfamiliar atmospheres that sometimes resemble an artist’s studio and other times a doorway. At the blurred boundary between memory and imagination, sudden changes of light or slowly confirmed objects in these silent spaces leave an impression of an undefined yet felt presence on the viewer.
Er’s works in the exhibition reveal not only a visual language but also a time-consuming, body-based creative process. Each animation takes shape step by step with small but meaningful interventions, turning the works into a kind of practice of existence. This state of production uncovers emotions hidden in the memory of the spaces, creating a perceptual world where the familiar slowly becomes strange, and the ordinary takes on an unusual form. In this world, the viewer is invited not only to watch but also to pause, notice, and establish a kind of relationship. It is a feeling like being in a familiar place whose reason is forgotten: silent yet speaking inwardly, motionless yet somehow stirring, a slightly melancholic universe. The atmosphere created by Er calls the viewer back to their inner rhythm: to slow down, observe carefully, listen, and perhaps become estranged from the world anew.
The sounds accompanying the videos in the exhibition reflect the artist’s personal connection, created with songs and rhythms drawn from daily life. On the other hand, physical pieces taken from the small worlds built with ink, fabric, thread, or other materials in the videos are also present in the exhibition space, offering viewers a closer and more tactile relationship.
“Longing in My Eyes, Pain in My Heart” — Lyrics: Şemsi Belli, Composition: Selâhattin İnal. Use in the exhibition granted by representatives Varis (Ayşe Yasemin Ener & Gülsen Belli).
Details to Visit the Exhibition
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Dates: May 16 – June 30, 2025
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Venue: Galeri Nev Istanbul
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Entry Information: Galeri Nev Istanbul
