The two poetic works of Ece Eldek, “Kurulu An” and “ma ma ma” are not so much critiques of institutionalized religion, its literature and customs, as they are creative adaptations that reveal an underlying human layer, the power inherent in its psychomagic, as a source of material transformation. Her language charts the metamorphoses of interpretability, which lies at the heart of scriptural tradition. A potato, for example, in “ma ma ma” assumes symbolist potency, in reference to its history as a forbidden New World fruit to the church of medieval Europe, and later, as a device for instituting military and domestic burden.
Eldek effects lucid passages, both oblique and direct, as when she writes, in the third and final poetic cycle of her performance, “ma ma ma“:
religion is now at the final curtain
don’t beg
the voice that comes out of darkness
transforms into lullabies and songs
These lines in quotation are an apt link to “Kurulu An”, as Eldek investigated the roots of the Quran and its literature as part of stream-of-consciousness writing, a popular technique used by avant-garde surrealists to reflect their fragmented, immediate selves within the cultural milieu of interwar society. Her piece, besides being a wordplay on Islam’s holy book, is a nod to its riptide-strong current that pulls minds into its oceanic whirlpools of the imagination, prompting believers to realize the unfading dreams of their mythological ancestry.
- FictiveMag
Two of Ece Eldek's poems in "Kurulu An", translated by Efe Murad
ANGELS DON’T GIVE GUARANTEES
I should have kept silent
as the words were sore and
the deprived thing was passing the river
pour the words into an empty bucket,
let’s see what will happen?
angels do not warrant cachets
what could be the meaning of this?
would angels act disrespectfully
if only you lie
self-entitled bastards
do you have a right to fate?
a fate that threatens death?
windows are shut
run said the shepherd
how many times have you escaped?
and destroyed the city
what is now left behind?
lost pictures
ruined sorrows
one night they tucked me in
in a demolished city
words are hazy
the city slippery
women captive
my voice tweezing
ruined buildings
show no mercy
this is an act
for the honor of sinking harbor
speak up, o head
speak up, o day
don’t fade away
howl
howl
flashbacks, reality
winners and losers face to face
mirrors
after “time?” the first question is “at what time?” did you sign the contract
prices, the invaluable, reality
chew the time
hide it in a matchbox
and wait
the time will come when you become
an old fart searching through plastic bags
IN THIS PLACE
Wars and pyramids
ruins and pencils
tips and Shamans
reason and cause
to which school did they go
to what ends did they journey
from which stone came their necklace
questions folded with one hand
wine and repetition
were raised in vain
art was mummified
(IS ART A RELIGION?)
in this degenerate world
chins ran to the water
bleeding lands
oceans to oceans
faces to faces
storms rolled into storms
Ilya passed by Olivia
Magnolias and cyanide
cyanide is burning
In the half old spiral cords
salmon time
find ideas
live
chalices
old fables
believers
non-believers
here they are
The visual material used by Ece Eldek in this work is based on a found book written in English. This book, titled “Muhammad and the Quran,” written by Rafiq Zakaria, contains certain verses from the Quran and narrates the life of the Prophet. While reading the book, which she came across by chance, Eldek realized that the translations of the verses into English were very poetic and began writing stream of consciousness poems on several pages of the book. She changed the title of the book to “Kurulu An / The Wound-up Moment”, considering holy scriptures as mechanisms that set up life like a wind-up clock. Stream of consciousness is a writing technique used by certain writers and poets to transfer glimpses of thought, associated to momentary feelings or triggered by other ideas, on paper. By interpreting the book with this method, the artist also wants to reflect on the moments and techniques involved in the writing of holy books.
text from EceEldek.com
Excerpts from three poems in Ece Eldek's book "ma ma ma", translated by Ayça Göçmen
SOLDIER
7 months 5 days
7 months 6 days
7 months 7 potatoes
how many tins I shot I didn’t count potato
how many punishments I peeled, I counted potato
my feet sore from sitting down,
my hands from cutting
I could not get my tongue around
you are rather right
I ate my punishment
but I am not full
…
General repeats himself,
his spit remains on the ground
the crowd steps on it and marches on
Either own it,
Or piss off, Or piss off
how many times you experienced your master with a leash on your neck
how many times you experienced your master with a leash in your hand
it wasn’t enough
…
HOUSEWIFE
Sound of my two hands can’t catch the time
I no longer have a hope chest, I gave away everything
what remained in my hands
lost pictures
desolate grieves
the words are hazy
the city is slippery
I am a woman, imprisoned
my voice is a pincer
…
I couldn’t make anyone believe what cooking food means
my share was mixing of the blend only
it impossible to taste the freedom
a child’s scream would hung in the air
my body’s flapping wings would harm those around me
they shot me as I was rising up to the air
and all eyes looked up
…
POPE
Old stories, believers, non believers, they are all here
I have been thinking since I made up my mind to be
yes they have forbidden the potato like apple
I have been dreaming about it since I made up my mind to be
what if I can’t be, what if I can’t terrorize like god
ma ma ma
I wet my bed
out of fear
I am scared all the time
mama
ma ma ma
wash my robe
dull voice
evil voice
wash my robe
I lost my voice
mama
ma ma ma
don’t put potato on that table
these are recent inventions
don’t put apple as well
ma ma ma
don’t put
you brought me from the bee hive
ma ma ma
…
ma ma ma
they opened their eyes,
the apple was forbidden, potato was forbidden
I opened my eyes to an established moment
ma ma ma
what else should be forbidden now
let me help you with your prohibitions
they gave me that hammer secretly
for me to bang it upon my table to multiply my voice
my name written in pages
like every actor hidden in an interlude
accompany me with chorus
I vulgarly hail the ruby clothes
mama, sing your lullabies
…
“ma ma ma (3 perdeli performans) / ma ma ma (3 act performance)” was produced for the public program of the 16th Istanbul Biennial. The performance focused on the theme ‘potato’. Potato played a servant’s role like it has in agriculture and in society. Ece Eldek created three characters in her performance; the soldier, because peeling potatoes is a punishment; the priest, because the church in Middle Ages has banned potato; and the housewife because she uses potatoes at home quite frequently. The artist wrote three poems that criticize state, religion and family over potatoes, over these people who serve. Using the theater as her medium, the artist has created a performance. In this work, with the curtains, which were used conceptually, the housewife, the priest and the soldier are playing the identity roles that are given to them. They act as servants through the identities that the society imposes on them, and which are memorized by them. Ece Eldek distributed the text into performances with specific rhythms and with the act of peeling potatoes in the center. Eldek prepared the booklet of her performance entitled “mamama / 3 act performance”
Ece Eldek is a multi-disciplinary visual artist and poet. In her artistic practice; she mainly uses video, sound, photography, poetry, installation and performance. She tends to combine writing and visual works. Eldek is interested in rethinking and understanding what it means to be a human. Her motivations for her practice consist of unconsciousness, existence, myths, persona, identity, belonging, social classes and history. The network of social, political and cultural relations, intertwined mechanisms and processes are the focus of her interest. She is working on the whole of relationships that establish the subjective experience. Eldek graduated from Marmara University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Graphic Art and Design. Eldek has participated in various exhibitions in Turkey and abroad, her poems were published in distinct publications and she has taken part in numerous art initiatives as founding partner.