Memed Erdener first started producing work under the name of Extrastruggle in 1997. Extrastruggle produced extrovert works with highly distinct references. As befits its name, this was a project of a struggle against the dogmatic propaganda system of T.C. (Republic of Turkey). His works were in constant strife with state ideology, and often with the holy taboo of Kemalism. Memed also created a critical approach to other dogmatic structures that are aiming to replace Kemalism. In doing all this, his distant and depersonalised political engagement rendered his own identity invisible. This was perhaps why Extrastruggle was often mistaken as a 'group' project.
Read MoreErdener's selected solo shows and presentations include: Beauty of Bigotry (Zilberman Gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2017), I Only Did What I Was Told To Do (Zilberman Gallery Istanbul, Turkey, 2016), Mom I'm Going Out to Pour Some Concrete (with Antonio Cosentino, Studio-X, Istanbul, Turkey, 2015), Solo Presentation (Volta11, Basel, Switzerland, 2015), There is No God in the Sky Only Birds (Gallery NON, Istanbul, Turkey, 2014), I Didn't Do This, You Did (Gallery NON, Istanbul, Turkey, 2010) | Group shows: The Red Gaze (Zilberman Gallery, Berlin, Germany, 2016), Istanbul Passion, Joy, Fury (The National Museum of XXI Century Arts, Rome, Italy, 2015), Minor Heroisms (Zilberman Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey, 2015), Objets Trouvés, Delvoyeurs (Galerie Didier Claes, Brussels, Belgium, 2015), Black&White (Van Abbemuseum, Eindhoven, The Netherlands, 2013; Museum of Modern Art, Warsaw, Poland, 2011), The 13th Biennial of Art: Pure Expression (Serbia, 2008) and 10th Istanbul Biennial (Istanbul, Turkey, 2007).
Text courtesy Zilberman Gallery.
