Simulacra, Soap Operas, and Sacrifice

Influenced by Arabesque culture, late modernism, and Orientalist discourses, Göksu Kunak critically examines processes of self-Orientalization as well as strategies of camouflage, self-censorship, and speculative fiction in her performances and installations. In her works, the powerful and hyperrealistic movements of bodybuilders, pole dancers, and climbers—among other motifs—reflect Kunak’s engagement with chronopolitics and hybrid textual forms, through which she explores the performative languages of contemporary life.

Join Kunak and curator Léon Kruijswijk in conversation about Kunak’s ongoing interest in simulacra and the concept of the “crash,” as well as the interplay of kinetic sculpture, spectacle, entertainment, and Turkish soap operas.

Her exhibition “REMAINS” opens at Galerie Ebensperger as part of Gallery Weekend Berlin; there will also be a preview of a new production exploring sacrificial rituals.

Göksu Kunak (born 1985 in Ankara) is an artist, researcher, and author living in Berlin. In 2025, Kunak was awarded the Art Prize of the Berlin Academy of Arts in the Performing Arts category. Most recently, Kunak has focused on score-based performances and installations that explore the body as a simulacrum and sculptural object, with a particular emphasis on musculature, strength, and embodiment.

Her works have been presented internationally at institutions and on platforms such as the Performa Biennial in New York, the Neue Nationalgalerie Sophiensaele and the Neuer Berliner Kunstverein in Berlin, the deSingel Arts Center in Antwerp, and the Kaaitheater in Brussels.

In 2025, Kunak was awarded the Art Prize of the Berlin Academy of Arts in the Performing Arts category. Since mid-2025, Léon Kruijswijk (born in 1989 in the Netherlands) has been the performance curator at Mudam Luxembourg – Musée d’Art Moderne Grand-Duc Jean. There, he curated a major retrospective of Simon Fujiwara as well as the performance program “A Journey.” This program features installations and live performances by Ivan Cheng, Sojung Jun, Mohamed Toukabri, and SERAFINE1369. Prior to his position at Mudam, he was a curator at the KW Institute for Contemporary Art in Berlin. There, he curated large-scale performances by Alexis Blake, Michele Rizzo, and Billy Bultheel & James Richards.

He also served as (co-)curator of exhibitions featuring BLESS, Coco Fusco, Luiz Roque, Sung Tieu, Oraib Toukan, and Miloš Trakilović. As a freelance curator and writer, Kruijswijk has been co-curating the “Present Future” section of the Artissima art fair in Turin with Joel Valabrega since 2024. Kruijswijk collaborates regularly with Göksu Kunak and has written for various art platforms and artist publications.

IN ENGLISH

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